Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

(2) Certain facts must be stated. The Railway administration owns some buildings situate at Malad, which is now with the limits of Greater Bombay. In the year 1908 the local area of Malad was made a notifed area under the privisions of the Bombay District Municpal. Act, 1901) and a committee known as Malad Notified Area Committee was constituted in respect of it. This committee, inter alia, possessed a power assessment and recovery of taxes within the area. In the year 1950 the Government of Bombay made S.s. 4 and 7 of the Bombay District Municipal Act. 1901, applicable to the local area of Malad, and directed that from 1-4-1951 a permanent Municipal district shall be formed for the local area of Malad. By the Bombay Municipal (Further extension of Limits and Schduled BBA (Amendment) Act, 1956 (Bombay Act LVIII of 1956) the Malad Municipality was abolished and the local area, which prior to the coming into force of the said Act, was under the jurisdiction of the Malad Municipality, became subject to the authority of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay. As a result of this notification, the buildings owned by the Railway Administration and situate at Malad are now within the limits of the Municipal corporation of greater Bombay.

Thereafter follows the schedule. In pursuance of this notification. the Malad Notified Area Committee, and thereafter the Malad Municipal Committee, recovered house and property tax from the B. B. and C. I Railway Company B. B. and C. I. Railway Administration till and the Western Railway Administration till the year 1952-53 in respect of the buildings owned by it in Malad. For the year 1953-54 the Malad Municipality increased the rateable value of the buildings belonging to the Railway Administration and called upon it to pay the house and property tax on the footing of the revised rateable value. It may be mentioned that till the year 1952-53 the Malad Municipality and before it, the Notified Area Committee recovered taxed from the Railway Administration only with respect to buildings constructed prior to 1-4-1937. The Railway Administration was not willing to pay these taxes.

By its application dated 23-3-1956 the Western Railway Administration invoked the jurisdictiono of the district Judge Thana, as the authority constituted under s. 3(2) of the said, Act, for determining such sum, if any, apyable by it as tax to the BombayMunicipal Corporation This application was inquired into by the district Judge Thana, as the particular area from which this dispute arises is within the limits of the district of Thana. the learned District judge, after considering the statements filed both by the Railway Administration and the corportaion, came to the conclusion that the properties of the railway Administration in Malad are not liable to pay any tax whatsoever to the corporation, because no notification had been issued by the Central Government under sub-s. (1) of s. 3 of the Railways (Local Authorities Taxation) Act, 1941. Certain other questions which were raised on behal f of the Railway Administration were also answered by him. But we need not refer to them, because as we will show presently the application of the Railway Administration to the District Judge, Thana, was not at all maintainable.

The applicant respectfully submits that in view of the fact that there does not exist any notification of the government of India either under the provisions of S. 135(1) of the Indian Railways Act, 1890, or under S. 3(1) of the Railways (Local Authority Taxation) Act, 1941, declaring the liability of the Western Railway Administration to the payment of any tax to the Malad District Municipality, the applicant Administration is not liable in law to pay any tax whatever to the opponent Municipality in the absence of any such notification. The applicant says that the only notification whcih was declared by the said notification of the said B. B. and C.I. Railway Administration to the Malad (Notified Area) Committee was in respect of house and property tax. The said B.B. and C.I. Railway Administration as such ceases to exist with effect from 6-11-1951 on which date the said B.B. and C.,I. Railway Administration, were integrated in to Section Marwar Junction to Phulad forming part of the ex-Jodhpur Railway Administration, were integrated in to one Unit known as the Western Railway Administraton. The applicant therefore submits that the Wester Railway is not just a change of name for the former B.B. and C.I Railway Administration but is altogether a district separate and indepeadent unit formed out of the merger of the five different Railway Administrations. In the circumstances and as there does not exist any notification of the Government, of India declaring the liability of the Western Railway Administration to pay any tax in aid of the funds of the opponent Municipality, the applicant is not liable to pay any tax to the oppnent Municipality in respect of any of its properties situated within the limits of the opponent Municipality.