Municipal house tax arrears secured by statutory charge fall under Article 62 and are not time-barred

Where municipal house tax is made a first charge on immovable property by statute, recovery of arrears is governed by Article 62 of the Limitation Act, 1963 as enforcement of money charged upon immovable property; the residuary Article 113 does not apply because the claim is not an unsecured money demand. The result was that the demand for arrears was not barred by limitation.

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Issues: Whether arrears of house tax payable to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi were governed by Article 62 of the Limitation Act, 1963, or by the residuary Article 113, and consequently whether the demand notice was barred by limitation.

Analysis: Section 123 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 makes property tax the first charge on the premises on which it is levied. The Court held that a demand for arrears of house tax secured by such a statutory charge falls within Article 62 of the Limitation Act, 1963, which prescribes twelve years for enforcement of money charged upon immovable property. The residuary Article 113 was held inapplicable because the demand was not a mere unsecured monetary claim. On that basis, the arrears demanded by the Municipal Corporation were not time-barred.

Conclusion: Article 62 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applied, and the house tax demand was not barred by limitation.

Ratio Decidendi: Where municipal house tax is made a first charge on immovable property by statute, recovery of arrears is governed by the limitation period applicable to money charged on immovable property and not by the residuary limitation article.

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