TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1950 (9) TMI 21
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....0 who are the applts. in this Ct. 2. Defendants 1 to 3 were the recorded owners of two premises situated within the ambit of the Municipality of Kurseong. The pltf. Municipality brought two suits against the said recorded owners for recovery of arrear rates in respect of those two premises as had accrued due for the period 1937-1940. The suits were decreed on 4-4-1940. In execution of the said decrees the two holdings were attached before being put up to sale. Defts. 4 to 10 preferred claims against the order for attachment & contended that they had previously obtained a decree against defts. 1 to 3 in Money Suit No. 21 of 1939 & in execution of that decree the properties in suit had been purchased by them on 21-2-1940. Defendants 4 to 10 ....
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....ey. There was no declaration of any charge. The Municipality did not frame the suits as being suits to enforce a charge. 6. Section 167, Bengal Municipal Act XV [15] of 1932 runs as follows : "The sum due on account of any rate under this Act from any person in respect of any holding shall, subject to the prior payment of the laud revenue if any due to the Govt. or of the rent (if any) due to a landlord under the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885, thereupon, be a first charge upon the same holding." 7. A similar provision is to be found in the Calcutta Municipal Act (III [3] of 1923) by which the consolidated rates payable to the Calcutta, Corporation are made a first charge on the premises. The relevant portion of Section 205 of this.....
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....hout notice (Akhoy Kumar v. Corporation of Calcutta 42 Cal. 625 : (A. I. R. ( 1915 Cal. 478), supra.) It has been found by the Ct. in the present case that the pltf. Municipality had not served any notice of arrear due on the defts. 4 to 10 when they addressed a letter (Ex. B, dated 13-12-1939) to the Chairman of the Municipality for requisitioning the service of a drummer for announcing to the public by beat of drums the sale proclamation of the attached property which included the two holdings in question. It is pointed out that when the said defts. had written another letter Ex. 5 M dated 2-4-1940 for the service of a Municipal drummer to announce the purchase by defts. 4 to 10 the said defts. were not intimated of the outstanding arrear....
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....The principle is that intending purchaser of a property within a municipal area where the property is subject to municipal tax which had been made a first charge on the property by statute, must be deemed to have been with knowledge of the possibility of some arrears being due to the municipality & it, therefore, becomes his duty before acquiring the property whether it be a private or at a court sale, to make enquiries as to the amount of tax which is due or which may be due. If he fails to make this enquiry this failure amounts to a wilful abstention or gross negligence within the meaning of Section 3, T. P. Act & a notice must be imputed to him. 14. The learned Dy. Comr. was, therefore, correct in holding that defts. 4 to 10 purchased t....