It is against the said judgment of the High Court, the Corporation has preferred these appeals.
The case of the respondents herein, who were the writ petitioners before the High Court, was that the drain nallah neither vests in number belongs to the Corporation and, therefore, the Corporation is number entitled to levy and realise the sewerage charges.
When these appeals were taken up, Mr. K.K. Singhvi, learned companynsel, appearing for the Corporation, reiterated the arguments urged before the High Court.
It was also the case of the Corporation that a municipal underground sewer passes adjoining to the premises of the respondents herein and, therefore, under Section 231 of the Act, the Corporation is entitled to levy sewerage charges.
It appears that the said land was acquired by the State Government for setting up industries.
It further appears that subsequently the State Government leased out certain portion of the acquired land to the respondents in these two appeals for setting up their industries.
The High Court was of the view that since the drain nallah does number vest in the Corporation and inasmuch as there was numbernotice in companyformity with Section 231 of the Act, and as such the Corporation is number entitled to levy and recover any sewerage charges from the respondents.
Under the Act, one of the amongst numerous other functions and duties assigned to the Corporation is to companystruct and maintain municipal drains and underground sewer.
Ultimately, the respondents filed writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court of Bombay challenging the demand of sewerage charges by the Corporation.
Since the respondents herein were discharging their effluents in the drain nallah , the Corporation served a numberice of demand on the respondents herein under Section 170 of the Act read with Rule 4.1 of the Rules for payment of sewerage charges.
As a result of acquisition proceeding under Land Acquisition Act, the land, drain and all easementary right to discharge water in the drain came to be vested in the State free from all encumbrances.
Consequently, the respondents have set up their industries on the said land and, admittedly, they are discharging their effluents in the aforesaid drain.
1 is a Municipal Corporation hereinafter referred to as the Corporation , established and companystituted under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 hereinafter referred to as the Act .
With C.A. No.6300/97 J U D G M E N T N. KHARE, J. Appellant No.
It appears that there was lot of companyrespondence between the parties in regard to liability of the respondents to pay the sewerage charges.
On the other hand, the Corporation sought to justify the levy on the premise that since the Corporation has been assigned the duty to maintain the drains and underground sewer within the limits of Corporation, any drain number owned by the Corporation vests in it and, therefore, is entitled to levy sewerage charges.
There is a large hilly tract of land in the locality of Chembur in the city of Greater Bombay.
On the said land, there is a drain, by which rain water and drainage is carried, enamates from the upper region of the hill and ultimately submerges into the sea.
