Gujarat High Court
Indus Towers Ltd vs State Of Gujarat & on 16 December, 2013
Author: Bhaskar Bhattacharya
Bench: Bhaskar Bhattacharya
INDUS TOWERS LTD....Petitioner(s)V/SSTATE OF GUJARAT C/SCA/13861/2013 ORDER IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 13861 of 2013 ================================================================ INDUS TOWERS LTD....Petitioner(s) Versus STATE OF GUJARAT & 2....Respondent(s) ================================================================ Appearance: MR SHALIN MEHTA, SR. ADVOCATE with MS VIDHI J BHATT, ADVOCATE for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 MS VACHA DESAI AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1 MR KB TRIVEDI, SR. ADVOCATE with MS SK VISHEN, ADVOCATE for the Respondent(s) No. 3 NOTICE SERVED BY DS for the Respondent(s) No. 1 - 2 ================================================================ CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. BHASKAR BHATTACHARYA and HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA Date : 16/12/2013 ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. BHASKAR BHATTACHARYA) By this Special Civil Application, the writ-petitioner has prayed for appropriate direction declaring that the Circular dated 8th November 2012 issued by respondent No.3-Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation purporting to levy and recover installation charges, annual permission fee, penalty, etc. on mobile telecommunication towers as contrary to the law laid down by this Court and, thus, beyond the power and authority of the Corporation being ultra vires the Constitution and the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949 to the extent and in so far as it declares that telecommunication services company like the petitioner are governed by the Government Resolution dated 20th November 2009 which has already been quashed and set aside by a Division Bench of this Court dated 22nd April 2010.
Mr Trivedi, the learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the Municipal Corporation fairly concedes that the same was a mistake on the part of the Corporation in relying upon the said Resolution dated 20th November 2009 as the same had already been set aside by this Court.
We, therefore, pass order declaring the above Circular dated 8th November 2012 issued by respondent No.3-Municipal Corporation purporting to levy and recover installation charges, annual permission fee, penalty, etc. on mobile telecommunication towers as contrary to the law laid down by this Court and to that extent the said Resolution is set aside. Consequently, the notice dated 19th July 2013, which is annexed at page 132/A of the petition is also quashed.
The Special Civil Application is, thus, disposed of with the above order. No order as to costs.
(BHASKAR BHATTACHARYA, CJ.) (J.B.PARDIWALA, J.) zgs Page 3 of 3