1998 (9) TMI 678

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....se of the appellants is as under : "The appellants are the sons of late Mr. Basheshar Nath who had let out the ground floor of property No.61, Jor Bagh, New Delhi to Indian Oil Corporation Limited in the year 1969 at the monthly rent of ₹ 750.00 . He had also let out the first and second floors in the year 1969 at a monthly rental of ₹ 675.00 to M/s Chowgule & Company Limited. The property tax for the years 1969-70 to 1988-89 had been assessed on the actual rental yield. The challenge in the writ petition was to the notices of assessments made in respect of rateable value for the years 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1993-94. The resolutions passed by New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) pertaining to these years have been placed on reco....

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....ilable to the appellants the writ petition was not maintainable and was rightly dismissed. On the other hand, learned counsel for the appellants contends that the remedy of appeal was onerous as it required the appellants as a pre-condition of hearing of appeal to deposit the house tax. Further contention urged on behalf of the appellants is that the statutory provisions cannot take away the constitutional remedies available under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to the citizens. In support of the contention that the remedy of writ petition is barred, learned counsel for the respondents has relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Mafat Lal Industries Limited and others vs. Union of India and others, 1996(9) SCA....

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....lso does not in any manner show that a writ petition per se is not maintainable in the matters where the challenge is to the assessments made by the Municipal authorities. The Full Bench decision of this Court in Shyam Kishore vs. Municipal Corporation of Delhi and others, AIR 1991 Delhi 104, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1993 (1) SCC 22, was mainly concerned with the question of validity of the provisions of Section 170(b) of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The Supreme Court while affirming the said full bench decision only stated that the resort to Articles 226 and 227 should be discouraged when there is an alternative remedy. It is one thing to hold that on facts if it is so justified, a petition under Article 226 ma....