Case: Firm Seth Radha Kishan (Deceased)Represented By Hari Kisha Vs. The Administrator, Municipalcommittee, Ludhiana

the decision of the Commissioner final can only mean this that that decision is final only so far as the proceedings under the Act are concerned. But when an order is made which is outside that Act, then the provisions of S. 225 can have no application to such an order which itself is outside the Act........................................ In short the Bench laid down that in two kinds of cases s. 225 was no bar to the jurisdiction of a civil court in examining the order of the municipal committee passed under s. 193 (2), Punjab Municipal Act. The first case is where a committee acts ultra vires and the second case is where it acts arbitrarily or capriciously. In other words, where it abuses its statutory powers."11. The learned judge concluded thus, at p. 85 "The remedies given to the subject by a statute are for relief against the exercise of power conferred by a statute but those remedies are not contemplated for usurpation of power under cover of the provisions of the statute. The civil Courts are the proper tribunals in those kinds of cases and their jurisdiction cannot be held barred by reason of statutory remedies provided for grievances arising in exercise of statutory powers. To cases of this kind the rule that where a statute creates a right and provides at the same time a remedy, that remedy and no other is available, has no application.Further citation is unnecessary. The law on the subject may be briefly stated thus : Under s. 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure the Court shall have jurisdiction to try all suits of civil nature excepting suits of which cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred. A statute, therefore, expressly or by necessary implication, can bar the jurisdiction of civil Courts in respect of a particular matter. The mere conferment of special jurisdiction on a tribunal in respect of the said matter does not in itself exclude the jurisdiction of civil courts. The statute may specifically provide for ousting the jurisdiction of civil Courts ; even if there was no such specific exclusion, if it creates a liability not existing before and gives a special and Particular remedy for the aggrieved party, the remedy provided by it must be followed. The same principle would apply if the statute had provided for the particular forum in which the said remedy could be had. Even in such cases, the Civil Courts jurisdiction is not completely ousted. A suit in a civil Court will always lie to question the order of a tribunal created by a statute, even if its order is, expressly or by necessary implication, made final, if the said tribunal abuses its power or does not act under the Act but in violation of its provisions.12. Let us now apply the said principles to the facts of the present case. The liability to pay terminal tax is created by the Act and remedy is given to a party aggrieved in the enforcement of that liability. As has been already indicated, against the order of the municipal committee levying terminal tax an appeal lies to the Deputy Commis- sioner and a reference to the High Court. Applying one of the principles stated supra, the party aggrieved can only pursue the remedy provided by the Act and he cannnot file a suit in a civil Court in that regard. Provisions of ss. 84 and 86 of the Act exclude the jurisdiction of the civil Court in respect of the tax levied or the assessment made under the Act.But the learned counsel for the Appellants contends that the impugned levy was not made under the Act but in derogation of the provisions thereof. There is no force in this contention. Section 61 (2) of the Act specifically empowers the Municipal Committee to levy any tax other than those specified therein with the previous sanction of the State Government. The levy of terminal tax was sanctioned by the Punjab Government by Notification No. 26463 dated July 21, 1932, at the rates shown in column 3 of the Schedule to the said Notification. Under the said Notification, read with s. 61 of the Act, the Municipal Committee is empowered to levy terminal tax on salt whether it is common salt or not. The Committee has, therefore, ample power under the Act and the Notification issued by the State Government to impose the said tax. The only dispute was as regards the rate of tax payable in respect of the salt brought by the appellant into the limits of the Municipal Committee. The rate depended upon the character of the salt. The ascertainment of the said fact is a necessary step for fixing the rate and it is not possible to say that in ascertaining the said fact the authorities concerned travelled outside the provisions of the Act. The learned counsel contends that if a municipal committee levies terminal tax on an article not liable to tax under the Act, a suit would lie and, therefore, the same legal position should apply even to a case where the municipal committee levies the tax in respect of an article under an entry not applicable to if. We do not see any analogy between these two illustrations : in the former, the municipal committee does not act under the Act, but in the latter it only commits a mistake or an error in fixing the rate of tax payable in respect of a particular commodity ; one is outside the Act and the other is under the Act ; one raises the question of jurisdiction and the other raises an objection to a Matter of detail. We, therefore, hold that in the present case the mistake, if any, committed in imposing the terminal tax can only be corrected in the manner prescribed by the Act. The appellants have misconceived their remedy in filing the suit in the civil Court. The conclusion arrived at by the High Court is correct.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]The liability to pay terminal tax is created by the Act and remedy is given to a party aggrieved in the enforcement of that liability. As has been already indicated, against the order of the municipal committee levying terminal tax an appeal lies to the Deputy Commis- sioner and a reference to the High Court. Applying one of the principles stated supra, the party aggrieved can only pursue the remedy provided by the Act and he cannnot file a suit in a civil Court in that regard. Provisions of ss. 84 and 86 of the Act exclude the jurisdiction of the civil Court in respect of the tax levied or the assessment made under the Act.But the learned counsel for the Appellants contends that the impugned levy was not made under the Act but in derogation of the provisions thereof. There is no force in this contention. Section 61 (2) of the Act specifically empowers the Municipal Committee to levy any tax other than those specified therein with the previous sanction of the State Government. The levy of terminal tax was sanctioned by the Punjab Government by Notification No. 26463 dated July 21, 1932, at the rates shown in column 3 of the Schedule to the said Notification. Under the said Notification, read with s. 61 of the Act, the Municipal Committee is empowered to levy terminal tax on salt whether it is common salt or not. The Committee has, therefore, ample power under the Act and the Notification issued by the State Government to impose the said tax. The only dispute was as regards the rate of tax payable in respect of the salt brought by the appellant into the limits of the Municipal Committee. The rate depended upon the character of the salt. The ascertainment of the said fact is a necessary step for fixing the rate and it is not possible to say that in ascertaining the said fact the authorities concerned travelled outside the provisions of the Act. The learned counsel contends that if a municipal committee levies terminal tax on an article not liable to tax under the Act, a suit would lie and, therefore, the same legal position should apply even to a case where the municipal committee levies the tax in respect of an article under an entry not applicable to if. We do not see any analogy between these two illustrations : in the former, the municipal committee does not act under the Act, but in the latter it only commits a mistake or an error in fixing the rate of tax payable in respect of a particular commodity ; one is outside the Act and the other is under the Act ; one raises the question of jurisdiction and the other raises an objection to a Matter of detail. We, therefore, hold that in the present case the mistake, if any, committed in imposing the terminal tax can only be corrected in the manner prescribed by the Act. The appellants have misconceived their remedy in filing the suit in the civil Court. The conclusion arrived at by the High Court is correct.