STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: A Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Comprising Chief Justice N. Kotishwar Singh and Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal closed the Public Interest Litigation regarding Property Tax by treating it as Writ Petition.
When the PIL came-up for hearing, Division Bench after hearing Adv Parveen Kapahi for the PIL whereas Advocate General DC Raina with Adv Monika Kohli for the UT, observed that this Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed by the petitioner seeking quashment of notification S.O. 87 dated 21.02.2023 issued by Commissioner-cum-Secretary Housing and Urban Development-respondent No. 2 herein, vide which, the rules for levy, assessment and collection of property tax in the Municipalities and Municipal Councils of UT of J&K has been notified.
During the course of hearing Adv Parveen Kapahi submitted that respondent No.2 has no jurisdiction to issue such a notification imposing property tax.
On the other side, Advocate General DC Raina assisted by Monika Kohli Sr. AAG submits that there is another matter bearing WP(c) No. 1038/2023 titled Hanan Moumin Feroq Khan v. UT of J&K and ors., challenging the virus of the aforesaid notification by certain private individuals pending in the Srinagar Wing of this Court.
DB observed that this Court is thus confronted with the situation where on the one hand, challenge is thrown to the rules imposing property tax in the form of PIL, which is to be heard by Division Bench and on the other hand, writ petition involving the similar issue pending before this Court is to be heard by Single Bench.
DB further observed that since the issue involved in the present PIL is of similar nature, therefore, we club the PIL with the aforesaid petition, so that aggrieved party may not be deprived of an intra court appellate forum.
In these circumstances, the Division Bench deem it appropriate to convert this PIL as a writ petition and remand the matter to Single Judge. DB also directed for clubbing of aforesaid petition along with present PIL so that these petitions can be heard together by the appropriate Bench.