Madras HC Fines ₹75,000 on Taxpayer for Abusing PIL to Resist Kodaikanal Property Tax Increase [Read Order]

In a recent ruling, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court imposed a cost of Rs. 75,000 on a taxpayer for misusing the public interest litigation (PIL) route to challenge the property tax revision implemented by the Kodaikanal Municipality and attempting to block the lawful process of property tax enhancement applicable to his own property.

The petitioner, Baskar Vincent, filed a writ petition seeking to restrain the Kodaikanal Municipality from collecting the revised property tax for the year 2024-25 on buildings constructed before April 1, 2022.

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The petitioner relied on a circular dated 27.12.2024 issued by the Director of Municipal Administration, arguing that the tax revision was in violation of this directive. Claiming to act in the public interest, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the Municipality had no authority to increase the property tax once it had been fixed in the 2022 general revision.

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The Municipality counsel argued that the petitioner had misconstrued the circular and that the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act provided a statutory appellate remedy for any taxpayer aggrieved by the tax revision. They submitted that the petitioner's attempt to block the tax revision through a PIL was an abuse of the process of law, especially when the petitioner had not availed the available statutory remedies.

The respondents also pointed out that the petitioner’s property, although classified as residential, was being commercially exploited as a homestay, justifying the enhanced tax demand. They argued that the grievance was purely personal and camouflaged as a PIL to stall the revenue collection process of the local body.

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A division bench comprising Dr. Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice S. Srimathy observed that the petition was not in the nature of genuine public interest litigation and was instead an attempt to misuse the PIL framework for private gain. The court observed that the petitioner failed to approach the appellate authority under the statutory mechanism provided for such disputes and chose instead to invoke the writ jurisdiction under the garb of public interest.

Finding the petition to be a gross abuse of legal process, the court dismissed the writ petition and imposed an exemplary cost of Rs. 75,000 on the petitioner, payable to the Kodaikanal Municipality. The connected miscellaneous petition was also closed.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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