Exemption claim re-examination required when earlier administrative rejection cannot satisfy a prior judicial direction

A prior judicial direction requiring revenue authorities to reconsider an exemption claim on a specified basis must be complied with through a fresh examination of the claim. An earlier administrative rejection that predated that direction cannot be treated as conclusive disposal of the matter or as satisfying the mandate for reconsideration. The fact that the amending notification introduced a cut-off date did not answer the petitioners' specific entitlement under the earlier order. The exemption claim therefore had to be re-examined to determine whether the petitioners had taken effective steps and were covered by the earlier notification.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to have their exemption claim re-examined in the light of the earlier Division Bench direction, and whether the prior rejection by the District Level Committee could be treated as sufficient disposal of their claim.

Analysis: The exemption claim arose under the notification dated 6 October 1994 as amended by the notification dated 9 June 2000 introducing a cut-off date. The earlier Division Bench had directed the authorities to examine whether the petitioners had actually taken effective steps and were covered by the earlier notification, and the benefit was to follow if they were suitably found covered. The record did not show compliance with that direction after the earlier order, and the rejection orders relied upon by the State predated the Division Bench direction. Those earlier rejections therefore could not substitute for the fresh examination required by the previous judicial mandate. The plea based on the general validity of the amending notification did not answer the petitioners' specific entitlement under the earlier direction.

Conclusion: The petitioners were entitled to a fresh re-examination of their exemption claim, and the earlier rejection could not be treated as conclusive against them.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a prior judicial direction requires the revenue authorities to reconsider an exemption claim on a specified basis, an earlier administrative rejection predating that direction does not satisfy the mandate and the claim must be re-examined accordingly.

---