JINDAL STRIPS LTD. Vs. MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE, HISSAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment shall dispose of Civil Revision Petitions No. 2328, 2329, 2330, 2407, 2408, 2409, and 2410 of 1990, as the question of law and fact which arises in these revision petitions is the same and as such they are being disposed of by one common judgment. The facts are being taken from C.R. No. 2330 of 1990.

(2.) State of Haryana issued a notification under Section 4(1) of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) extending the limits of Hissar Municipality. The notification dated 12th April, 1988 under Section 4(1) of the Act was published in the Gazette on 26th April, 1988. The petitioner filed objections and sent the same to Haryana Government through Deputy Commissioner, Hissar. Haryana Government dismissed the objections of the petitioner and issued a notification under section 4(3) of the Act on 21st July, 1988 and by this notification, the limits of Municipality Hissar stood extended. Petitioner challenged the aforesaid notification dated 21st July, 1988 in this Court by filing C.W.P. No. 7168 of 1988 which was heard along with other writ petitions by the Division Bench of this Court and this Court vide its judgment dated 29th September, 1988 allowed the writ petitions and directed the State Government to provide an opportunity of being heard to the petitioner and the octroi collected from the petitioner was ordered to be refunded. A direction was given by this Court to the Secretary to Government of Haryana Local Government Department to hear the objections of the petitioner on 17th October, 1988 in his office in Haryana Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh. Petitioner appeared before the Secretary, Local Government Department, Chandigarh and their counsel made detailed submissions with regard to the objections to the notification in question. Secretary to Local Government Department, Haryana, after hearing the petitioner rejected his objections vide order dated 17th November, 1988 and later on issued a notification under section 4(3) of the Act which was published in the extraordinary Gazette of Haryana Government on 7th July, 1989. Aggrieved by this Notification dated 7th July, 1989 petitioner filed the present suit for declaration to the effect that the notification dated 7th July, 1989 is illegal, non-est, ultra vires and not binding on the petitioner on various grounds. It is alleged in the plaint that notification dated 21st July, 1988 was quashed by this Court in a writ petition and that the notification dated 7th July, 1989 could not be issued particularising the factory of the petitioner. A prayer was made that respondent Municipal Committee be restrained from charging/recovering octroi on the goods received in the factory of the petitioner which was deemed to be within the municipal limits because of the notification under challenge.

(3.) Along with the suit, the petitioner filed an application under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 read with section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the Code) for ad interim injunction restraining the respondent municipal Committee from recovering the octroi during the pendency of the suit. Ex parte ad interim injection was granted by the trial Court vide order dated 18th July, 1989.