Vesting of Government drains and statutory notice requirements control municipal sewerage charges; demands failed absent compliance.

A Government-owned drain did not vest in the municipal corporation merely because the statute imposed a general duty to maintain drains; vesting of Government property required compliance with the specific statutory procedure, so sewerage charges could not be levied on that basis. A separate demand under the alternative charging provision also failed because the required statutory notice had not been served, and correspondence could not replace that precondition. The Court therefore held that recovery of sewerage charges was not maintainable on either basis, while leaving open the possibility of proceeding in accordance with law after fulfilling the statutory requirements.

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Issues: (i) Whether a drain belonging to the State Government vested in the Corporation so as to permit levy of sewerage charges under Sections 220 and 220A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888; (ii) Whether sewerage charges could be demanded under Section 231 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 without the notice contemplated by that provision.

Issue (i): Whether a drain belonging to the State Government vested in the Corporation so as to permit levy of sewerage charges under Sections 220 and 220A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888.

Analysis: The expression "vest" was held to be context-dependent and capable of meaning vesting in title, possession, or a limited sense. Reading Sections 220 and 220A together, and in the light of the legislative history, the Court found that drains belonging to the Government do not automatically vest in the Corporation merely because the Corporation has a duty to maintain drains. Vesting of a Government drain in the Corporation can occur only in the manner prescribed by Section 220A, and until that procedure is followed, the State-owned drain remains outside the Corporation's vesting.

Conclusion: The drain in question did not vest in the Corporation, and the Corporation had no authority on that basis to levy or recover sewerage charges from the respondents.

Issue (ii): Whether sewerage charges could be demanded under Section 231 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 without the notice contemplated by that provision.

Analysis: The Court held that a justification raised during correspondence could not substitute for the statutory notice required under Section 231. In the absence of such notice, the demand of sewerage charges under that provision could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The demand under Section 231 was not maintainable without the required notice, though it remained open to the Corporation to proceed in accordance with law.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed because the State-owned drain had not vested in the Corporation and the statutory precondition for recovery under the alternative provision had not been satisfied.

Ratio Decidendi: Vesting of Government property in a municipal authority does not occur by implication from a general duty to maintain it; where the statute prescribes a specific mode of vesting and a statutory notice is a condition precedent to recovery, those requirements must be strictly complied with before charges can be levied.

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