KARTAR KAUR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DO the provisions of Section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure, render immune from attachment and sale, the residential building of a defaulter for recovery of arrears of sales tax and the penalty payable thereon under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 ? Herein lies the controversy in revision.

(2.) M/s. Kartar Singh Ranjit Singh had been held liable for payment of arrears of sales tax and penalty thereon under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973. This firm owned shop-cum-flat No. 12 in the New Sabzi Mandi on the Grand Trunk Road, Karnal. The ground floor of this building was with tenants while the first and second floors thereof were, it is said, used as the residence of the defaulters. Apparently, to avoid the sale of this property for recovery of the amounts due to the sales tax authorities, it was transferred in favour of Kartar Kaur, the wife of Kartar Singh, through the agency of a civil court decree granted on 13th February, 1984. It was in this situation that the contention was raised, negatived by both the courts below, that the property being residential was exempt from attachment and sale under Section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure. This finding indeed warrants no interference in revision.

(3.) IT is settled law that the provisions of Section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure do not apply to attachment and sale of property unless the relevant statute expressly makes them applicable to proceedings thereunder. This point arose before the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v. Dina Nath AIR 1984 SC 352. In recovery proceedings for the licence fee of a liquor vend, the defaulter raised the plea that the property sought to be proceeded against was a residential house and could not, therefore, be attached or sold. This was repelled with the observation: "on a plain reading of the said Section 60, it is clear that that section has no application to attachment and sale in any proceedings other than in execution of a decree of a civil court. The provisions of Section 60 of the Code do not apply to an attachment and sale under any other statute unless made expressly applicable thereto. " Admittedly, there is no provision in the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, by virtue of which the petitioner can seek to claim the benefit of the provisions of Section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure.