Allahabad High Court Dismisses PIL Against Retrospective Property Tax By Kanpur Municipal Corp.

On 12 January, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the retrospective enhancement of property tax by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation, holding that a PIL is not maintainable where the relief sought essentially pertains to the private grievances of an association's members.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra held:

“Filing of petitions in the nature of PIL, though essentially projecting the interest of the members of the Association and as a result claiming the general public as affected by the same grievance, cannot be countenanced. Once the petitioner Association has claimed relief qua their own members, the nature of the petition as a public interest petition cannot be maintained.”

The petitioner association, claiming to represent around 13,500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, had assailed retrospective property tax demands raised for the financial years 2022–23, 2023–24 and 2024–25, as well as for prior years, based on an enhanced annual rental value determined by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation.

It contended that tax bills issued to property owners included arrears for previous years by retrospectively enhancing the annual rental value, without prior notice or disclosure of the basis for such enhancement. The association argued that the levy was arbitrary, without jurisdiction, and violative of Articles 14 and 265 of the Constitution.

The Bench noted that the petition, though styled as a PIL, was essentially intended to safeguard the interests of the association's members and accordingly dismissed it. It however, granting liberty to the petitioner to challenge the property tax enhancement in appropriate proceedings.

Counsel for Petitioner(s): Akashi Agrawal, Ashish Bansal