Case ID: 928

Judgment:
Appeal No. 306 of 1957. Appeal from the judgment and order dated April 28	 1955	 of the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench)	 Lucknow	 in Civil Misc. Application No. 59 of 1954. C. B. Agarwala	 C. P. Lal and G. N. Dikshit	 for the appellants. section P. Sinha and B. R. L. Iyengar	 for the respondent. July 28. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 84 SHAH ' J. Raja Syed Mohammad Saadat Ali Khan	 who will hereinafter be referred to as " the assessee "	 is the owner of Taluqa Nanpura in district Bahraich and Taluqa Mohammadi in district Kheri	 in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The legislature of the United Provinces enacted the United Provinces Agricultural Income tax Act	 Act III of 1949	 authorising imposition of a tax on agricultural income within the State. By section 3 of the Act	 the liability to pay agricultural income tax and super tax at rates specified in the schedule therein was charged on the total agricultural income of the previous year of every person. By section 14	 the Collector and the Assistant Collector were for the purposes of the Act declared to be the assessing authorities within their respective revenue jurisdictions. As originally enacted	 by section 2(4)	 the expression " Collector " was to have the same meaning as in the United Provinces Land Revenue Act	 1901. By section 44	 the Provincial Government was empowered to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Act	 and in particular	 amongst others	 " to prescribe the authority by whom and the place at which assessment shall be made in the case of assessee having agricultural income in the jurisdiction of more than one assessing authority " By r. 18	 el. 1(a)	 framed by the Government	 in exercise of the powers under section 44	 it was provided	 in so far as it is material	 that subject to sub section 2 of section 14	 an assessee shall ordinarily be assessed by. the Collector of the district in which he permanently resides. The State Government of Uttar Pradesh (the former United Provinces) by Notification dated June 8	 1953	 appointed one K. C. Chaudhry under sub section 1 of section 14(A) of the United Provinces Land Revenue Act III of 1901 to be the Additional Collector in district Bahraich and authorised him to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of a Collector " in all classes of cases ". Claiming to exercise the authority of the Collector tinder section 14 of Act III of 1949	 the Additional Collector by order dated February 25	 1954	 assessed the assessee 's net agricultural income at Rs. 2	81	110 10 3 and ordered him to pay Rs. 1	36	390 2 0 as agricultural income tax and super tax. 85 The validity of this order was challenged by the assessee by an application under article 226 of the Constitution presented before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. The contention of the assessee that the Additional Collector of Bahraich was not an authority competent bylaw to assess the agricultural income tax under Act III of 1949 was upheld by the High Court. The High Court issued a writ of certiorari quashing the order of the Additional Collector	 because in its opinion	 where property of an assessee is situate in several districts	 the Collector as the assessing authority under Act III of 1949 exercises "extra territorial" jurisdiction	 but as K. C. Chaudury	 the Additional Collector was not invested with that extraterrestrial jurisdiction	 the impugned proceeding assessing agricultural income tax was unauthorised. The State of Uttar Pradesh obtained from the High Court leave to appeal to this court against the order quashing the assessment. On behalf of the State of Uttar Pradesh	 it is urged that an Additional Collector by virtue of section 14(A) of the United Provinces Land Revenue Act III of 1901	 is competent to exercise all such powers and perform all such duties of a Collector in cases or classes of oases as the State Government may direct	 and the State Government having invested Mr. Chaudhri the Additional Collector with authority to exercise all the powers and to perform all the duties of a Collector " in all classes of cases "	 that officer could exercise the powers of the Collector under Act III of 1901	 including	 what the High Court called the " extraterritorial " powers. It is unnecessary to express any opinion on this argument	 because the legislature of the State of Uttar Pradesh	 has	 since the judgment delivered by the High Court in this group of cases	 amended the United Provinces Agricultural Incometax Act (U. P. Act III of 1949) by Act XIV of 1956	 giving retrospective operation to the amending provisions. By the amendment	 cl. 4 of section 2 of the original Act	 has been substituted by two clauses	 cl. 4 and cl. 4 a	 and el. 4 a enacts that the expression " Collector " shall have and shall be deemed always to have 86 the meaning as in the U. P. Land Revenue Act	 1901 and will include an Additional Collector appointed under the said Act. By section 10(1)(b)	 all orders made	 actions or proceedings taken	 directions issued or jurisdictions exercised under or in accordance with the provisions of the Principal Act or of any rule an framed thereunder prior to the amendment of that Act are to be deemed always to be as good and valid in law as if the amending Act had been in force at all material dates. By section 10	 sub section 1(a)	 of the amending Act	 it is provided that in r. IS of the U. P. Agricultural Income Tax Rules	 1949	 the expression " Collector " shall be deemed to have included an Additional Collector: and it is enacted by sub section 2 of that section that where any question arose as to the validity or legality of any assessment made by an Additional Collector in purported exercise of the powers under section 14 or of the rules framed under cl. (o) of sub section 2 of section 44 of Act III of 1949	 the same shall be determined as if the provisions of this amending Act had been in force at all material dates. By the amending Act	 the legislature has enacted in language which is clear and explicit that assessment proceedings held by an Additional Collector who is invested with the powers of a Collector under Act III of 1901 shall be deemed always to have been properly taken. This court is seized of an appeal from the order of the High Court quashing the assessment on the ground that the Additional Collector had no extra territorial authority to assess agricultural income tax. It is true that Act III of 1949 was amended after the High Court delivered its judgment; but in dealing with this appeal	 we are bound to consider the amended law as it stands today (and which must be deemed to have so stood at all material times) and to give effect to it	 having regard to the clearly expressed intention of the legislature in the amended provisions. Accordingly we hold that the Additional Collector was competent to assess the liability of the assessee to pay agricultural income tax and super tax under the United Pro vinces Agricultural Income tax Act III of 1949. For the assessee	 it is contended that before the 87 High Court an application for review of judgment was submitted by the State Government under section 11 of the amending Act	 and the High Court having rejected that application and no further proceeding having been initiated in this court challenging the correctness of that decision	 it is not open to us to set aside the judgment under appeal. In support of this plea	 it is urged that an application for review of judgment is the only remedy available to a person aggrieved by a decision of a court or authority for rectification of an order inconsistent with the provisions of the amending Act	 and if	 for any reason	 that application for review is not filed or is filed and rejected	 it is not open to a court or authority exercising appellate powers against that decision to adjudicate the dispute in the light of the amending Act. Section 11 in so far as it is material	 provides: " Where before the commencement of this Act	 any court or authority has	 in any proceedings under the Principal Act	 set aside any assessment made by an Additional Collector merely on the ground that the assessing authority had no jurisdiction to make the assessment	 any party to the proceedings may	 at any time	 within ninety days from the commencement of the Act apply to the court or authority for a review of the proceedings in the light of the provisions of this Act	 and the court or authority to which the application is made	 shall review the proceedings accordingly ". Relying on section 11	 the State of Uttar Pradesh	 it is true did submit an application for review of the judgment of the High Court and the High Court rejected that application observing	 "That section (section 1 1) applies however only to cases in which the assessment has been set aside in any proceedings under the Principal Act. In the cases before us	 the assessment has not been set aside in any proceedings under the Principal Act but in exercise of the jurisdiction vested in this court under article 226 of the Constitution. These three petitions are therefore not maintainable. . . " We need express no opinion on the correctness of 88 this view	 because in our judgment	 the contention of the assessee that for setting aside an adverse order inconsistent with the provisions of the amending Act of 1956	 a proceeding for review under section 11 is the only remedy which is open to an aggrieved party	 is without force. A court of appeal		 in an appeal properly before it	 must give effect to the law as it stands if the law has at some stage anterior to the hearing of the appeal been amended retrospectively with the object of conferring upon the authority or tribunal of first instance from the order whereof the appeal is filed jurisdiction which it originally lacked: and a provision for review like the one contained in section 11 of the amending Act does not affect the power of the appellate court to deal with the appeal in the light of the amended law. In the view expressed by us	 this appeal must be allowed. As the appellant succeeds relying on a statute which was enacted after the date of the judgment of the High Court	 we direct that there shall be no order as to costs. Appeal allowed.

Summary:
The United Provinces Agricultural Income tax Act	 1949	 authorised imposition of a tax on agricultural income within the State	 and the agricultural income tax and super tax were charged on the total agricultural income of the previous year of the assessee. For the purposes of the Act the Collector and the Assistant Collector were declared to be the assessing authorities within their respective revenue jurisdiction and the expression " Collector " was to have the same meaning as in the United Provinces Land Revenue Act	 1901. Under the rules framed by the government under section 44 of the Act an assessee having agricultural income in the jurisdiction of more than one assessing authority was to be assessed by the Collector of the district in which he permanently resided. The State Government of Uttar Pradesh appointed Mr. K. C. Chaudhry under subS. 1 of section 14(A) of the United Provinces Land Revenue Act	 1901 to be the Additional Collector in District Bahraich and authorised him to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of a Collector in all classes of cases ". Claiming to exercise the 83 powers of a Collector under section 14 of the United Provinces Agricultural Income tax Act of 1949 he assessed the net agricultural income of the assessee who owned landed property in two districts	 namely	 Bahraich and Kheri in the State of Uttar Pradesh	 at 12	81	110 10 0 and ordered him to pay Rs. 1	36	390 2 0 as agricultural income tax and super tax. The validity of this order was challenged by the assessee in the High Court by an application under article 226 of the Constitution and the High Court quashed the order of the Additional Collector holding that he had no " extra territorial " jurisdiction which was exercised by the Collector as the assessing authority in cases where the property of the assessee was situate in several districts and as such the proceeding taken by him for assessing agricultural income tax was unauthorised. After the judgment of the High Court was delivered the State Legislature amended the United Provinces Agricultural Income tax Act	 1949	 by Act XIV of 1956	 giving retrospective operation to the amending provisions. The Amendment Act enacted that the assessment proceedings held by an Additional Collector who was invested with the powers of a Collector under Act III of 1901 should be deemed always to have been properly taken. The State Government submitted before the High Court an application under section 11 of the amending Act for review of its judgment but it was dismiss ed. On appeal by the State Government by special leave	 Held	 that the Additional Collector was competent to assess the liability of the assessee to pay agricultural income .tax and super tax under the United Provinces Agricultural Income tax Act	 1949. A Court of appeal must give effect to the law as it stood at the time of hearing of the appeal if at any stage anterior to the hearing the law had been amended with retrospective effect conferring on an authority or tribunal from the order whereof the appeal is filed	 jurisdiction which it originally lacked. The power of the appellate court to deal with the appeal in accordance of the amended law is not affected by a provision for review as contained in section 11 of the Amending Act.