HC orders educational society to deposit Rs 48L property tax within fortnight

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court Justice R M Joshi on Wednesday (December 11), directed Bhagwan Shikshan Prasarak Mandal to pay Rs 48,36,000 of outstanding property tax within 15 days.

If the amount is not deposited within the stipulated period, the municipal corporation will have the authority to take action, informed the municipal corporation's lawyer, Sambhaji Tope.

The petitioner, Bhagwan Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, operates six different institutions across more than 16,000 square feet of land. The total outstanding property tax amount from all these institutions up to 2024 is Rs 1,93,36,000 (Rs 1.93 crore).

Earlier, the municipal corporation had issued notices regarding the outstanding property tax on August 27, 2018, and April 3, 2018. In response to these notices, the petitioner approached the civil court.

Hence the municipal corporation requested the court to reject the claim as the petitioner has not served notice to the municipal corporation as per the law and also there is a provision of appealing before the municipal commissioner by depositing the total outstanding dues. After reviewing the matter, the court rejected the claim on August 9, 2024.

The petitioners filed a stay application in the District Court, which, through its order dated November 27, 2024, directed that 50% of the outstanding amount—Rs 96,68,000—be deposited along with Rs 5 lakh per month until the appeal is resolved. The court also instructed that no action be taken against them until the appeal process is completed.

Challenging this order, the petitioner approached the Aurangabad bench, which declined to intervene in both the District Court's orders and upheld the aforementioned directives. Besides, the bench directed that the appeal process in the District Court must be completed within six months. Advocate Sambhaji Tope represented the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) in this matter.