JAINARAIN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are two writ applications under Art. 226 of the Constitution and raise identical questions relating to the validity of certain taxes in the Pokaran Municiality, Tehsil Phalodi. We, therefore, propose to decide both by this judgment.

(2.) THE petitioners are the residents of Pokaran and are traders and taxpayers in that town. THEre is a municipality a Pokaran which is said to have been in existence since 1935. It may be pointed out at once that there was no statutory law as such governing this or other municipalities in the district towns of what was the farmer state of Jodhpur within whose jurisdiction this municipality existed. THE present board was constituted on the 21st December, 1951, for a period of three years and therefore, the period of office of its members is said to have terminated on the 20th December, 1954. THE petitioners' objection relates to certain taxes one of which was the mapa tax (a tax on sale of goods) and it appears that this was realized from the petitioners in the past and was stopped when the octroi was sought to be introduced in 1954. THE second is the octroi tax which is said to have been lived in this municipality by notification No. 769 dated the 11th November, 1954, (Ex 4 ). It was said in this notification that the octroi rules and the schedule made by the municipal board has been sanctioned by the Government and, therefore, at a meeting held on the 5th November, 1954, the municipal board had decided that the new tax will be imposed with effect from the 1st January 1955. It was further stated therein that any body who wanted to see the rates could do so in the office of the municipality or in the municipal chungi outposts at the railway station or in the mandi (i. e. , the market)during office hours. A similar notice (Ex. 3) was issued with respect to the bye-laws framed by the municipal board and sanctioned by the Government in the same connection. It is necessary to mention here that before the Government's sanction was received, a notice (Ex. 2) had been issued on the 9th March, 1954, with respect to the rules under sec. 60 (b) of the Rajasthan Town Municipalities Act, 1951, 'act No. XXIII of 1951) hereinafter referred to as the Rajasthan Act), and with respect to the bye-laws, Ex. 1 under sec. 46 (2) of the Rajasthan Act by way of preliminary steps for the introduction of the tax in question and it was stated in those no ices that the rules and bye-laws had been kept in the office of the municipal board and the municipal tax on posts and in the vachnalay (public reading rooms) and these could be inspected during office hours and objections were invited to the introduction of the said tax, rules and by-laws to be filed within one month from the date of the respective notices. We may clear the ground by stating at once that so far as the mapa tax is concerned, it was stated before us by the learned Government Advocate (and this position was not controverted on behalf of the petitioners) that it was not being recovered at the date of the petitioners present applications THE petitioners have, however, claimed a refund of the amounts paid by them by way of mapa tax presumably from the 26th January, 1950. when the Constitution came into force As no mapa tax is being livied by the munci-pal board, the question whether this tax is legal or illegal is merely academic and we do not consider it necessary to pronounce any opinion on the question whether that tax is hit by any of the provisions of the Constitution. And so far as the prayer for refund is concerned, we are not prepared to consider this question in the present writ applications for obvious reasons, and we leave the petitioners free to seek such relief as they may consider the inselves entitled to by means of a suit in the civil court if so advised.