Statutory appeal bars writ challenge to municipal property tax bills; federation lacks locus for members' individual assessment disputes.

A writ challenge to individual municipal property tax bills was treated as inappropriate where Section 406 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 provides an effective statutory appeal for assessment disputes, including objections based on natural justice, legality of assessment, and retrospective demand. The federation could not maintain a collective challenge because the grievance belonged to the individual societies and it showed no independent legal injury or separate cause of action. Section 150A was also treated as authorising notices for escaped assessment within the prescribed period, so the challenge to retrospective levy was not entertained in writ jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging property tax bills was maintainable and entertainable in view of the statutory appeal under Section 406 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, and whether the petitioner-federation had locus standi or a cause of action to assail bills issued to its member societies.

Analysis: The dispute concerned individual property tax bills issued by the municipal corporation to separate co-operative societies. The statutory scheme under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 provided a complete remedy of appeal under Section 406, subject to the prescribed deposit and other conditions. The grounds urged, including alleged breach of natural justice, illegality in assessment, and challenge to the retrospective demand from 1 October 2016, were held to be matters that could be raised before the appellate forum. The Court also held that the federation itself suffered no legal injury, that the grievance was personal to the individual societies, and that a common federation could not convert separate assessment disputes into a maintainable en bloc writ proceeding. Section 150A of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 was treated as conferring authority to issue notices for escaped assessment within the prescribed period, and the challenge to retrospective levy was rejected.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable or entertainable in writ jurisdiction, and the objection of the municipal corporation was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an effective statutory appeal exists for individual tax assessments, the High Court will not ordinarily entertain a writ petition to bypass that remedy, and a federation cannot maintain a collective challenge unless it shows its own legal injury or an independent cause of action.

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