Content Provider | Supreme Court of India |
---|---|
e-ISSN | 30484839 |
Language | English |
Access Restriction | NDLI |
Subject Keyword | Madras District Municipalities Act |
Content Type | Text |
Resource Type | Law Judgement |
Jurisdiction | India |
Act(s) Referred | Madras District Municipalities Act (5 of 1920) |
Case Type | Appeal |
Court | Supreme Court of India |
Disposal Nature | Others |
Headnote | A B c D E F G -l 2 ]'. GUNTUR MUNICIPALCOUNCIL v. GUNTUR TOWN RATE PAYERS' ASSOCIATI01' September l 8,l 970 [J. C. SHAH AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.] Madru.1· DistrictMunicipalities Act (5 of 1920). s. 82(2) Rew ,11 whic:h buildings nray reasonahly be expected to be let /ro111 111ontl1 ro ntontli-How dctcnnined. TheappellantMunicipalCouncil effected (a general revision of the rentalvaluesof housesand buildings in the municipality, under s. 82(2) of the MadrasDistrict Municipalities Act, 1920. for thepurpose ol assessmentof tax. On thequestionwhether the appellant was boundto makethe asse-s ment in thelight of the provisioos of theRentControlAct, HELD : (a) Under s. 82(2) the test is whatrent the premisescan lawfully fetch if letoutto a hypotheticaltenant. The municipality is not freeto assessany arbitraryannual value but has to lookto and is liounr fr<~m year to yearless the specified deduction.The test essentially 1s whatrent the premises can !aw fullyfetch if let outto a hypotheticaltenant. The municipality is thus not freeto assessany arbitraryannual value and has to lookto and is boundby thefair or thestandardrent whichwould be payablefor a particularpremises under the Rent Act in forceduringthe yearof assessment. In TheCorporation of Calcutta v. Sm. Padma Debi & Ors.(') it washeldthat on a. fair readingof theexpressprovisionsof s. 127(a) of the CalcuttaMunicipalAct 1923the annualrent couldnot be fixed higherthan the standardrent underthe Rent ControlAct. There theRentControlAct of 1950 cameinto forcebeforethe assess mentwas finallydeterminedand it was observedthat the Cori» rationhad no powerto fix the annualvaluationof thepremises higherthan the standardrent underthat Act.The learned counselfor theappellanthas not madeany attempt nor indeed he could do so to contestthe aboveview.What has beenstressed by him isthat s. 7 oftheActmakesit clearthat it is only a!ter thefixationof thefairrentof a buildingthat the landlordis debarredfrom claiming or receivingthe paymentof anyamount in excessof suchfair rent. It is urged thatso long as thefairrent ol a building or premisesis notfixedthe assessmentof valuation bya municipalityneed not be limited or governedby themeasure providedby theprovisionsof theActfor determinationof fair rent. Logicallysuch buildings or premisesas arenotlet out to atenantand are in the self occupation of the landlordswould also fallwithinthe sameprincipleif no fair renthas evenbeenfixed m respectof them. Weare unableto agreethat on the languageof s. 82(2) of theMunicipalitiesAct any distinctioncan be madebetween buildingsthe fairrentof whichhas beenactuallyfixed by the Controllerand thosein respectof which no suchrent has been fixed. It isperfectlyclear that the landlordcannot lawfullyexpect togetmorerent thanthe fairrentwhichis payablein accordance withthe principleslaid down in the Act.The assessment of valua tion musttake into accountthe measureof fairrentas determin ableunderthe Act. It maybe thatwherethe Controllerhas not fixedthe fairrentthe municipalauthoritieswill haveto arriveat theirown figurt of fairrent but thatcan be donewithout- any difficultyby keeping in viewthe principleslaid downin s. 4 ofthe Actfor determinationof fairrent.This would of coursebe wit.Ii regardto the assessment ofvaluationfor theperiodsubsequent tothecominginto forceof theAct. For the priorperiod it would betheRentAct in forceduringthe yearof assessmentin thelight ;I) [l%2]3 s. C.R. 49. 426 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1971] 2 S.C.R of theprovisionsof which the figureof thefairrentwouldhave to be determinedand assessmentmade accordingly. Thereis a gooddeal of confusionin thejudgments of thetrial courtand the firstappellatecourt with regardto theRentActs the provisionsof which wuuld haveto bekeptin viewfor the assess ment of valuationfor thepurposeof s. 82{2) of the Municipalities Act.The decreeswhich have been grantedsuffer from the same infirmity. It hasbeenpointedout by thelearnedcounselfor the respondentsthat .accordingto therulescontainedin thefourth scheduleto theMunicipalitesAct the assessmentbooks have to be revisedonce in every five yearsand the quinquennialassessment thusmadeenuresfor thatperiod.But it appearsfrom the rules thata procedurehas beenprescribedfor changingthe assessment whenevera case· is made out fordoing so. Weare not concerned withthe proceduraldifficulties which may be experienced;we have to declarewhat the Jaw is and as appearsto bewellsettledthe assesmentof valuationfor the purposeof taxmustbe madein accordancewith and in thelightof theprovisionsof the Rent Act whichwouldbe in forceduringthe periodof assessment.. ln the resultthe decreeswhich have beengrantedare hereby modifiedby declaringthat the generalrevisionmade by theGuntur Municipalityby increasingthe rentalvaluationof housesand buildingsbeyond the fairrentdeterminableunder the RentAct inforcefortheperiod of assessmentshall be illegaland ultra vires and a permanentinjunction shall issuerestrainingthe municipality fromrealizingany amountin excessof suchtax whichmay be found due on t.'ie valuationfixed accordingto theprincipleslaid downin our judgment. In view of theentire circum~tan.:es the .partiesare leftto bear theirown costs in this Court. V.P.S. A B c E |
Judge | Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.N. Grover |
Neutral Citation | 1970 INSC 197 |
Petitioner | GUNTUR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL |
Respondent | GUNTUR TOWN RATE PAYERS' ASSOCIATION |
SCR | [1971] 2 S.C.R. 423 |
Judgement Date | 1970-09-18 |
Case Number | 1650 |
National Digital Library of India (NDLI) is a virtual repository of learning resources which is not just a repository with search/browse facilities but provides a host of services for the learner community. It is sponsored and mentored by Ministry of Education, Government of India, through its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). Filtered and federated searching is employed to facilitate focused searching so that learners can find the right resource with least effort and in minimum time. NDLI provides user group-specific services such as Examination Preparatory for School and College students and job aspirants. Services for Researchers and general learners are also provided. NDLI is designed to hold content of any language and provides interface support for 10 most widely used Indian languages. It is built to provide support for all academic levels including researchers and life-long learners, all disciplines, all popular forms of access devices and differently-abled learners. It is designed to enable people to learn and prepare from best practices from all over the world and to facilitate researchers to perform inter-linked exploration from multiple sources. It is developed, operated and maintained from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
Learn more about this project from here.
NDLI is a conglomeration of freely available or institutionally contributed or donated or publisher managed contents. Almost all these contents are hosted and accessed from respective sources. The responsibility for authenticity, relevance, completeness, accuracy, reliability and suitability of these contents rests with the respective organization and NDLI has no responsibility or liability for these. Every effort is made to keep the NDLI portal up and running smoothly unless there are some unavoidable technical issues.
Ministry of Education, through its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), has sponsored and funded the National Digital Library of India (NDLI) project.
Sl. | Authority | Responsibilities | Communication Details |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education |
Sanctioning Authority | https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives |
2 | Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project | https://www.iitkgp.ac.in |
3 | National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project | Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in |
4 | Project PI / Joint PI | Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project |
Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon |
5 | Website/Portal (Helpdesk) | Queries regarding NDLI and its services | support@ndl.gov.in |
6 | Contents and Copyright Issues | Queries related to content curation and copyright issues | content@ndl.gov.in |
7 | National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club) | Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach | clubsupport@ndl.gov.in |
8 | Digital Preservation Centre (DPC) | Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books | dpc@ndl.gov.in |
9 | IDR Setup or Support | Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops | idr@ndl.gov.in |