Sahujain Charitable Society And Anr. Vs Kolkata Municipal Corporation And Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
The writ petition challenged the constitutional validity of Section 3 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, which substituted Section 179(2)(d) of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, and sought quashing of a property tax demand exceeding ₹11.24 crore along with penalty. The petitioners, a charitable society and its trustee, had been subjected to retrospective revision of property tax dating back to 1985. Earlier litigation culminated in a Division Bench judgment that read down the expression “at any time” in Section 179(2)(d), limiting retrospective revision of valuation to a maximum of three years. This judgment attained finality after dismissal of multiple Special Leave Petitions.
Subsequently, the 2022 Amendment introduced a substituted provision enabling revision of annual valuation within six years and included a non-obstante clause overriding judicial decisions, along with a validating clause deeming earlier revisions valid and recoverable. Relying on this amendment, the municipal corporation issued a fresh demand in 2024.
The petitioners argued that the amendment was unconstitutional as it sought to override binding judicial decisions without curing the underlying defect, imposed retrospective liability, and violated Articles 14, 19, and 300A. They contended that the Legislature cannot revive invalid levies or nullify final judgments through a validating statute without addressing the defect identified by courts.
