It may be mentioned that, neither in the original leases of 1953, number in the fresh leases of 1955, was there any mention about liability of the tenants to pay the house tax.
On 9th September, 1954, the Government of Bombay sanctioned the amendment to the then existing Housetax Rules framed under the Act in respect of this Borough, and the General Committee passed a Resolution on the 19th February, 1955 sanctioning the levy of taxes on Municipal owned buildings, adopting the sanctioned taxes,.and bringing them into force with effect from 1st April, 1955 by giving necessary public numberice as required by law.
Notice under section 77 was published on 25th February, 1955 and then the taxes came into forct on 1st April, 1955.
Subsequent to the execution of these fresh leases, bills were received from the respondent by the appellants calling upon them to pay the house tax imposed in respect of the.
Thereafter, fresh lease deeds were executed by the respondent in favour of the appellants on 11th May, 1955.
In pursuance of this Resolution, a numberice was issued by the President of the Borough that all the citizens in occupation of the buildings owned by the Municipality must pay the taxes assessed on them in respect of the premises under their occupation.
The main ground taken was that the Municipality companyld number impose a house tax on buildings owned by itself, so that the imposition of this house tax was invalid in law.
The appellants thereafter filed the suit out of which the present appeal has arisen, challenging the legality of the imposition of the tax.
The Borough owned several buildings in Dharwar.
888 of 1961.
buildings belonging the respondent which were on lease with the appellants.
Some of these buildings were given on leases, to the appellants.
Thereafter, by a General Committee Resolution No.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated February 23.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
These leases were executed in favour of the appellants by the Borough some time in March and April, 1953.
On 9th September, 1953, the appellants preferred joint objections against the levy of the house tax and its realisation from them.
1966 of the Mysore High Court in Second Appeal No.
The respondent, the Hubli Dharwar Municipal Corporation, was originally companystituted as a Borough under the Bombay Municipal Boroughs Act, 1925 hereinafter referred to as the Act .
2206 of 1966.
36 dated 29th June, 1953, the Borough decided to recover house tax and other municipal taxes from the private individuals who were tenants of the municipal buildings leased out to them.
At the relevant time, when the disputes leading to the suit arose, it was still a Borough, but it became a Corporation subsequently in the year 1962.
The suit was resisted on the plea that it was a valid taxation.
R Chaudhuri, for the respondent The Judgment of the Court.
V. Gupte Naunit Lal S.S. Khanduja and Swaranjit Sodhi for the appellants.
was delivered by Bhargava, J. This appeal by special leave arises out of a suit challenging the validity of imposition of house tax and numberices issued for realisation of that tax from the appellants.
