Bidhannagar (Salt Lake) Welfare Asson vs Central Valuation Board & Ors

7. The High Court opined:

(2) The Chairman shall be a person who is or has been an officer of the State Govt. not below the rank of a Secretary.

(4) The Chairman and the other members of the Board shall hold office for such period not exceeding six years as the State Government may determine and the terms and conditions of their service including salaries and allowances shall be such as may be prescribed.

(2) The Chairman shall be a person who is or has been an officer of the State Govt. (not below the rank of Secretary including ex-officio Secretary).

(3) The four other members shall include the Director of Local Bodies, Government of West Bengal, who shall be the ex-officio member of the Board, and such other officers of the State Government or non-official experts having knowledge and experience in the field of judiciary, Engineering, Valuation and Assessment of properties, economics or social science as the State Government may determine.

Secretary who shall be appointed by the State Government from amongst the members referred to in sub-

8. Expenditure incurred on account of salaries and allowances The expenditure incurred by the Board for meeting the salaries and allowances of the Chairman, the other members, the Secretary and Officers and employees serving under the Board shall be defrayed out of the Fund.

8. Expenditure incurred on account of salaries and allowances The expenditure incurred by the Board for meeting the salaries and allowances of the Chairman, the other members, the Secretary and Officers and employees serving under the Board shall be defrayed out of the Fund.

8A. The Board shall maintain the prescribed manner a register of registered valuer surveyors (Gr. I) and registered valuer Surveyors (Gr. II).

(2) The Board shall publish the valuation list in such manner as may be prescribed and shall specify a date within which objections to the list may be filed.

(4) No application shall be entertained unless the amount of consolidated rate as recorded in the final valuation list referred to in Sec 11 has been paid or deposited in the office of the Corporation or the Municipality, as the case may be, before the application is filed and the application shall fail unless amount is continued to be paid or deposited till the application is finally disposed of.

[See also Paras 32 to 34 and 40]

31. The recording of reasons which lead to the passing of the order is basically intended to serve a two-fold purpose:

43. Principles of natural justice are based on two basic pillars:

47. We, therefore, for the aforementioned reasonshave no other option but to hold that the provisions for review conferred in terms of the statute for all intent and purport are illusory ones and do not satisfy the test of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. No statute which takes away sombody's right and/ or imposes duties, can be upheld where for all intent and purport, there does not exist any provision for effective hearing.

51. For the reasons aforementioned, the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court is set aside and that of the learned Single Judge is restored. The impugned Act is declared unconstitutional being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. These appeals are allowed. No costs.