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1970 DIGILAW 170 (KAR)

D. E. MANJANATHA SETTY v. STATE OF MYSORE

1970-10-27

GOVINDA BHAT, JAGANNATHA SHETTY

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JAGANNATHA SHETTY, J. ( 1 ) THIS order shall dispose of both the above writ petitions. The petitioners in these writ petitions challenge the levy of octroi by the Hosnagar Town Municipal Council on the basis of a Notification bearing no. MUN (C) 23 (69-70 dated 17-7-1969 published in the Mysore Gazette of 21st August, 1969. ( 2 ) THE second respondent passed a resolution proposing to levy octroi on several articles in their meeting held on 5-12-1966 and that was published by the notification dated 19-12-1966 (published in the Mysore Gazette dated 20-4-1967 ). After obtaining the necessary sanction from Government, the final notification was published under S. 97 of the Mysore municipalities Act, 1964 (shortly the Act ). That notification reads as follows: -"office of the Chief Officer, Town Municipal Council, Hosnagar. NOTIFICATION dated: 17th July 1969. MUN (C) 23169-70. Notice is hereby given for the information of the public of Hosnagar town that the Municipal Council in its meeting held on 16th July 1969, has resolved unanimously to give effect to the Rules for levy of octroi as sanctioned in Government Order No. HMA 79 TBR 69, Bangalore, dated 7th July 1969, will be given effect to in this Municipality with effect from 1st October, 1969. Sd. G. Panchakshariah, sri Kadidal Manjappa, the learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that the levy of octroi on the basis of the above notification is illegal as it is not in conformity with the provisions of S. 97 of the Act. In order to appreciate the contention, it is necessary to set out the provisions of S. 97 of the Act. "97. Publication of sanctioned resolutions with notice.- (1) All resolutions sanctioned under S. 96 with all modifications subject to which the sanction is given, shall be published by the Municipal council in the official Gazette and in the Municipality for which they are prescribed together with a notice reciting the sanction and the date and number thereof, and the tax as prescribed by the resolution so published shall, from a date which shall be specified in such notice and which shall not be less than one month from the publication of such notice be imposed accordingly, and the proceeds thereof shall be applied by the Municipal council in accordance with all conditions, if any, subject to which under section 96 the sanction was given. Provided that. . . . Provided that. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " ( 3 ) THE mandate of the section requires that there shall be a publication of all resolutions sanctioned under S. 96 of the Act, with a notice reciting the sanction and the date and number thereof. The imposition of the tax prescribed by the sanctioned resolution would become operative from a date which shall be specified in such notice and which shall not be less than one month from the date of the publication. In other words, the resolution which was earlier passed by the Municipal Council specifying the requirements, like classes of persons, the amount or rate, and the octroi stations as laid down under S. 95 of the Act, if approved by the Government under s. 96 of the Act, with modifications if any, shall be published under S. 97 of the Act. There cannot be a valid imposition of the tax if the publication is not according to the mandatory requirements of the Section. In the impugned notification, there is no reference to any one of the above requirements except mentioning that the Rules for levy of octroi as sanctioned by the Government Order will be given effect to. In our opinion, there is no publication at all as contemplated under S. 97 of the act. ( 4 ) FOR the reasons stated above, these writ petitions succeed and the notification dated 17th July 1969 published in the Mysore Gazette dated 21st August 1969 is hereby quashed. No costs. --- *** --- .