SAT PAL Vs. MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE, SUNAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants-plaintiffs filed suit against recovery of Rs. 972/- as house tax for the assessment year 1978-79 by the Municipal Committee, Sunam. It was alleged that no proper procedure was followed for fixing the rental value and the rental value was arbitrarily enhanced. The suit was contested.

(2.) The trial Court held that in the plaint, no figure of the previous value and revised value had been given nor any evidence of any infirmity in the procedure had been shown by summoning the relevant record; burden of the proof was on the plaintiffs to show that the procedure had not been followed which had not been discharged; the plaintiffs had a remedy of approaching the authorities under the Municipal Act to challenge the revision of rental value and in view of the bar contained under Section 41(h) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, no declaration or injunction could be granted in favour of the appellants-plaintiffs. It was also held that jurisdiction of the Civil Court to entertain such a suit was barred.

(3.) Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the rental value had been fixed contrary to the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Dewan Daulat Kapoor v. M.C., 1980 1 RCR(Rent) 618, and the same was without jurisdiction. He submitted that Civil Court jurisdiction is not barred to see whether authorities had acted contrary to fundamental principles of judicial procedure.