MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE Vs. RADHAKISAN JAIKISAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WITHIN the local limits of the Khandwa Municipality the respondents, who were plaintiffs in the lower Court, own ginning and pressing factories and carry on business of ginning and pressing cotton. They did this business in the cotton seasons of 1922-1923 and 1923-1924. The Khandwa Municipality acting through its committee served them with notices on or about 26th November 1924 demanding amounts said to be due on account of arrears of a tax on the trade of ginning and pressing cotton for the year 1923-1924. The demand was repeated on or about 9th January 1925 and the plaintiffs were called upon to comply with it within 24 hour. But the actual recovery from each individual plaintiff was effected on dates ranging from 6th to 9th February 1925. The total amount thus recovered from all the plaintiffs comes to Rs. 16,669-14-0. The plaintiffs feeling themselves aggrieved by the aforesaid recovery of tax served the Municipal Committee with the visual statutory notice and called upon it to refund the aforesaid sum on the ground that its imposition was ultra vires, and recovery illegal. As the committee did not see its way to refund the tax levied, the plaintiffs jointly instituted suit No. 39 of 1925 against it on 6th August 1925 for the amount due with interest at Rs. 1 per cent, per mensem. The total value of the claim is Rs. 17,619-4-9. It has been decreed to the extent of Rs. 16,669-14-0 against the Municipal Committee. Hence this appeal by the Municipal Committee.

(2.) IN para. 3 of the plaint the plaintiffs have set forth the following chief reasons amongst others in support of their contention that the imposition and recovery of the tax were ultra vires, and illegal:

(3.) THE Additional District Judge who decided the case framed issues for trial; we reproduce the following relevant issues, as it is contonded by the appellant that the pleadings and issues were-not specific: