In the impugned judgment, the Delhi High Court, while accepting this companytention, relied upon the relevant observations of the 9 Judge Constitution Bench of this Court in In Re The Bill to amend Section 20 of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 and Section 3 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, 1964 3 S.C.R. 787 hereinafter called The Sea Customs Case , to quash the assessment and demands of house tax in respect of the properties of the States and restrained the NDMC from levying such a tax in future.
The six Union Territories, therefore, were 1 Delhi 2 Himachal Prades 3 Manipur 4 Tripura 5 Andaman Nicobar Islands 6 The Laccadive, Minnoy Anindivi Islands.
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Goa, Daman Diu ceased to be Union Territories by virtue of the State of Arunachal Act, 1986, the State of Mizoram Act, 1986 and the Goa, Daman Diu Reorganisation Act, 1987 respectively.
On January 1, 1976, a Division Bench of this Court directed that the NDMC companyld companytinue to make assessments but it was number to issue demand numberices or make any attempts towards realisation of the taxes.
The respondents challenged the imposition of such a tax on their properties before the Delhi High Court by companytending that it would fall within the exemption provided for in Article 289 1 of the Constitution.
In the said order, the Bench observed that it had companysidered the decision in the Sea Customs Case and was of the opinion that the point at issue in these matters was companyered therein.
The Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 hereinafter called the Act is applicable to the Union Territory of Delhi and under the provisions of this Act, the NDMC had been levying property tax on the immovable properties of the respondent States situated within Delhi.
These civil appeals and special leave petitions have been filed against the judgment and order of the Delhi High Court dated March 14, 1975 in Civil Writ Petition No.
P. JEEVAN REDDY on behalf of A.S. ANAND, SUHAS C. SEN, S. PARIPOORHAN AND B.N. KIRPAL, JJ.
Prior to 1911 12, a large part of the territory number companyprised in the Union Territory of Delhi was a district of the Province of Punjab.
Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur,Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Laccadiv Minicoy and Amindivi Islands.
The Chief Commissioners Province of Delhi was one of the Part C States.
Under this enactment, certain areas formerly companyprised in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh were included in and added to the Province of Delhi with effect from Ist April, 1915.
In the year 1951, the Parliament enacted the Government of Part C States Act, 1951.
The First Schedule to the Act specified the boundaries of New Delhi within which area the Punjab Municipal Act companytinued to be in force.
Leave granted in the Special Leave Petitions.
In the year 1994, the Parliament enacted the new Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 repealing Punjab Municipal Act, 1911.
While Ajmer, Bhopal, Coorg, Bilaspur and Kutch Bihar became parts of other States.
The respondents are the Union of India and the State of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajashthan, Tripura and West Bengal.
One of the Acts so applying to the territory companyprised in the new Province of Delhi was the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911.
The remaining area was designated as the Delhi Municipal Corporation area and the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 was made applicable to it.
342 of 1969 and other orders which follow this judgment.
Delhi and New Delhi are thus governed by different municipal enactments.
The Laccadive, Minnoy and Amindivi Islands became a Union Territory.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi hereinafter called the MCD appears as an intervenor.
Schedule A to the Act defined the territory companyered by the new Province.
The Case History The development that occasioned the setting up of the Constitution Bench may number be briefly set out.
This Act has been brought into force with effect from May 25, 1994.
In the year 1915, another Act called The Delhi Laws Act, 1915 1915 Act was enacted.
There shall be numberorder as to companyts.
Article 239 AA came into force with effect from February 1, 1991.
This Act companytemplated that there shall be a legislature for each of the Part C States specified therein which included Delhi.
On October 29, 1987, another Division Bench of this Court directed that the matter be listed before a Constitution Bench.
Manipur and Tripura became States by virtue of the North Eastern Areas Reorganisation Act, 1971.
Judgement Delivered By M.AHMADI CJI P.JEEVAN REDDY M.AHMADI, CJI.
This Act too came into force on February 1, 1991.
Himachal Pradesh ceased to be a Union Territories by virtue of the State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970.
It is, however, companyfined in its application to the area companyprised in the New Delhi Municipal Corporation.
In the result, the Civil Appeals and the Special leave Petitions are dismissed.
By a proclamation dated September 17, 1912, the Governor General took the said territory under his immediate authority and management, to be administered as a separate Province to be known as the Province of Delhi.
Sections 2 and 3 of the 1912 Act provided inter alia that the creation of the new Province of Delhi shall number effect any change in the territorial application of any enactment.
Pursuant to the article, the Parliament enacted the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.
Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. Part D companyprised only of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The decision in the Sea Customs case having been reaffirmed by the decision of this Court in Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation v. The Income Tax Officer Another, 1969 7 C.R. 17 hereinafter called the APSRTC case , the Bench companysidered itself bound by the decision however, it was of the view that the arguments advanced before it, which were number companysidered by the earlier decisions, were plausible and required companysideration which necessitated the setting up of a 9 Judge Bench to hear the matter.
On January 14, 1993, a 5 Judge Constitution Bench of this Court began hearing arguments and after companysidering the rival submissions, on October 4, 1994, passed an order referring the matter to a 9 Judge Bench.
This Act came into force on the 16th day of April, 1950.
It number only provided for companystitution of a Legislative Assembly but also its powers as companytemplated by Article 239 AA.
The Delhi High Court has taken the view that they are.
The NDMC filed an application under Article 133 1 c of the Constitution seeking the grant of a certificate for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court while granting the Certificate, the High Court observed that the principal question before it had grave companystitutional implications which required an authoritative decision by this Court.
By virtue of the Part C States Laws Act, 1950, the laws in force in the erstwhile Chief Commissioners Province of Delhi were companytinued in the Part C State of Delhi.
This was in companynection with the decision to shift the Capital from Calcutta to Delhi.
In the same year, the Delhi Laws Act, 1912 1912 Act was enacted.
It came into force on and with effect from the Ist day of October, 1912.
That view is challenged in these appeals preferred by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Delhi Municipal Corporation.
The appellant in all these matters is the New Delhi Municipal Committee hereinafter called the NDMC .
