Auction Buyer Not Liable for Pre-Sale Municipal Tax Arrears Without Public Notice or Disclosure

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....The HC held that an auction purchaser is not liable for pre-sale municipal property tax arrears, interests, or penalties when the taxing authority failed to disclose such charges publicly or provide information upon request. The purchaser lacked actual or constructive notice of outstanding dues, as the Corporation only intimated the alleged liability post-sale during mutation proceedings. The Court reaffirmed that encumbrances must be ascertainable through public records and that municipal tax arrears do not constitute an encumbrance under the Companies Act. Consequently, the impugned demand letters were held unsustainable, and the taxing authority was precluded from recovering pre-purchase tax dues from the petitioner. The writ petition was allowed, relieving the purchaser from liability for arrears existing prior to the auction sale.....