Court No. - 1
Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 840 of 2019 Petitioner :- Cantonment Board, Meerut Respondent :- Principal, St. John School And Another Counsel for Petitioner :- Udit Chandra
Hon'ble Saumitra Dayal Singh,J.
1. Sri Udit Chandra, learned counsel for the petitioner, fairly states that the earlier assessment made by the Cantonment Board, Meerut had been sustained in appeal. However, the appeal order was set aside by learned single judge of this Court in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 4789 of 1999 (Cantonment Board, Meerut Vs. St. John's School & Ors.), decided on 17.07.2002. This judgement became subject matter of challenge before the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 73 of 2003. That appeal filed by the Cantonment Board, Meerut was allowed by judgement dated 06.08.2008 and the matter remitted for fresh assessment to the authority of Cantonment Board, Meerut. Upon that remand, fresh order of assessment was made, which was set aside by order passed in statutory appeal. The order passed in appeal was made subject matter of challenge in Writ Tax No. 177 of 2013. It was dismissed by another learned single judge of this Court by judgment dated 25.04.2014. The special appeal filed against that order being Special Appeal Defective No. 1001 of 2014 came to be dismissed for want of prosecution by order dated 23.03.2018.
2. While a restoration application is stated to be pending in that special appeal, at present, fresh demands had been taken out by the Cantonment Board pursuant to the order that had already been set aside in appeal, which appeal order had been confirmed by the learned single judge in Writ Tax No. 177 of 2013.
3. In such facts, the appeal court has committed no error in allowing the appeal and in setting aside the demands as at present, there does not exist any basis for those demands. However, it is made clear that the rights of the parties may be governed by the fate of the restoration application and the proceedings in the special appeal i.e., if that appeal came to be decided in favour of the Cantonment Board, the further demand may be raised by the latter, in accordance with that judgement.
4. Accordingly, the present petition is dismissed.
Order Date :- 25.7.2019 Prakhar