Smt. Munni Dwivedi vs Nagar Ayukta Nagar Nigam Ayodhya Civil

" 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the respondent.

2. This writ petition has been filed with the following main prayers:- "(i) issue a writ, order or direction, in the nature of writ in nature of, Certiorari to quash the demand notice no. 0/04400438 dated 26.08.2025 under section 506 of Nagar Nigam Act 1959 demanding house tax and water tax amount Rs 7,73,780/- regarding house no. 1/13/82 situated civil lines Ayodhya, annexed as ANNEXURE NO-1 to this petition. (ii) issue a writ, order or direction, in nature of writ in nature of mandamus to issue a order or direction to opposite parties to issue a fresh and correct demand notice after assessment of house of the petitioner after providing proper opportunity to be heard to the petitioner."

3. It has been submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner has not deposited house tax and water tax since 2018-2019 and initially a Demand Notice was issued to the petitioner on 2 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025

09.12.2024 for Rs.6,53,660/- for arrears up to 31.03.2025. The petitioner moved a representation on 09.12.2024 indicating that she was a 75 years old widow lady and the house in question did not have any water connection from Nagar Nigam, it had no drainage facility, there were no street light and no civic amenities having been provided by the Nagar Nigam. The house tax and water tax that has been charged was exorbitant and that she was ready to pay only that which was due to her, as per the amenities provided by Nagar Nigam. However, instead of giving a corrected bill for house tax and water tax, the respondents have issued another Demand Notice impugned in this writ petition of Rs.7,73,780/-.

4. It has been submitted that without assessment of the house in a correct manner, an arbitrary and illegal Demand has been raised.

5. Learned counsel for the respondent, on the basis of instructions and coloured photographs of the house in question, has stated that there is a deliberate concealment and misrepresentation amounting to fraud. The house in question is two storey house situated in Civil Lines, Ayodhya and is being used for non-residential purposes and at least two/three offices, one of Reliance, an Office of Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment and an private Income Tax Advocate's chamber, are running in the building in question which is apparent from the coloured photographs of the frontage of the house in question.

6. Let a short counter affidavit be filed by the respondent within ten days.

7. List this case on 26.11.2025 at the first case in the fresh cases list."

3. In pursuance of such order the Nagar Nigam Ayodhya, has filed a short counter affidavit sworn by the Chief Tax Assessment Officer, Ayodhya, wherein it has been stated that the writ petition is riddled with misrepresentation and concealment of fact. The building in question is situated on the main road and in Civil Lines area of Ayodhya, it is a non-residential building and has several Offices and Shops on rent, for example Reliance Jio, ACC Cement, Office of the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment and the private chamber of Income Tax Advocate's. The petitioner has not paid House Tax and Water Tax for the building since Financial Years- 2018-2019. The contention raised by the petitioner that there is no facility of street light, is false. The building in question being adjacent to the main road in Civil Lines, Ayodhya, has facility of street light available since long. There is one water pipeline running close i.e. within 10 meters of the aforesaid building and Water Charges are being levied on the 3 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025 basis Section 55 of the U.P. Water Supply and Sewage Act, 1975, and Rule 2 of the Jal Sansthan (Radius regarding Levy of Water Tax) Rules, 1993. Sewage tax is not being levied as the building does not have any sewer line. A notice of demand was issued under Section 506 of the U.P. Municipal Corporation Act for an amount of Rs.6,53,660/- for arrears of House Tax and Water Tax since Financial Years-2018-2019 upto 31.03.2025 initially and later on, another Notice of demand was issued for an amount of Rs.7,73,780/- including simple interest @ 12% per annum as applicable under Section 221-A of the U.P. Municipal Corporation Act, 1959.

4. The petitioner has filed the Rejoinder affidavit today which is taken on record, wherein it has been stated that calculation of Tax has been wrongly done. It has been stated further that there is no concealment or misrepresentation in the writ petition and the building in question is jointly owned by the petitioner and her son Santosh Kumar Dwivedi and was declared commercial by the Opposite parties in the year 2008 and since 2008, the petitioner has been continuously paying House Tax and Water Tax at commercial rates upto Financial Year 2017-2018.

5. It has been further submitted that electric pole and light was installed by the husband of the petitioner in front of the house of the petitioner at his own expense and drainage Nali is not in existence. There is no sewer line facility provided by the Nagar Nigam. There is no water connection either but the petitioner has been paying Water Tax to the Nagar Nigam.

6. The annual rental value of the house in question has also been disputed.

7. We have gone through the contents of the writ petition again to determine whether there is any concealment as referred to by the respondents in their short counter affidavit.

8. We find that in Paragraph-4 there is a mention of the petitioner being senior citizen having House No.1/13/82 situated in Civil Lines, Ayodhya, and in paragraph-6 it has been stated that there is no facility given by the Nagar Nigam to the petitioner, Munni Devi, no light, no water water connection, no sewerage, no Nali/Drainage. Yet demand notice Rs.6,53,000/-. It has also been stated that the petitioner made an application on 19.12.2024, copy of which has been filed as Annexure- 3 to the petition. Without disposing of the application and without assessment of the house being done, an incorrect, arbitrary and illegal demand notice has been sent on 26.08.2025 of Rs.7,73,708/-. issued on 09.12.2024 4 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025 The tax has been increased arbitrarily. No procedure has been followed for computation. An anti-dated auction notice has also been pasted on the house of the petitioner on 28.10.2025. The Nagar Nigam employees are threatening to seal the house of the petitioner.

9. We have also gone through the Annexures to the writ petition and we find copies of notices issued by the Nagar Nigam, Ayodhya, as aforesaid and also an Application/ Representation submitted by the petitioner only on 19.12.2024 to the Nagar Ayukta, Nagar Nigam, Ayodhya. Such application does not have any proof of its receipt in the office of the Nagar Nigam, Ayodhya, also there is no postal receipt filed to show that the same was posted.

10. From a perusal of the said representation, it is evident that the petitioner has again stated that she is a 75-years old widow and a notice was issued on 09.12.2020 demanding House tax and Water tax, whereas the Nagar Nigam has not given any connection, nor has provided any drainage facility, nor is there any light or Sewer facility in the property in question provided by the Nagar Nigam, and that in the past the petitioner had deposited almost every tax that had been demanded. Because the petitioner has been ill for the past four or five years, she could not deposit the tax in later years.

11. There is no denial in the rejoinder affidavit submitted by the petitioner today of the house in question being purely commercial property and having offices of Reliance Jio, ACC Cement, Uttar Pradesh State Vigilance Establishment and a private Lawyer’s chamber in it. The petitioner is only disputing the tax computed by the respondent Nagar Nigam on the basis of no facility being provided by the Nagar Nigam of Water/ Sewerage pipeline. The question of demand of Water tax/ Sewerage charges has been settled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Jalkal Vibhag Nagar Nigam & Ors. v. Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation & Anr. reported in 2021 SCC OnLine SC 960.

12. If the petitioner is aggrieved by the demand made by the Nagar Nigam/Municipal Corporation, it can certainly approach the Appellate Authority. The petitioner can file an Appeal under Section 472 of the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1959, before the Civil Judge (Small Causes), Ayodhya, who has been the nominated Authority to decide such Appeals.

13. The petitioner’s appeal, if filed, will be decided in accordance with law, taking into account rent receipts filed by the petitioner with regard to rent she receives from the Offices/ Shops/ Showrooms of Reliance Jio, ACC Cement, Uttar Pradesh State Vigilance 5 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025 Establishment and the private Lawyer’s chamber who is running his practice from the same premises.

14. The writ petition stands dismissed. (Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra,J.) (Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J.) November 26, 2025 N.PAL NARESH PAL NARESH PAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench Lucknow Bench

" 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the respondent.

2. This writ petition has been filed with the following main prayers:- "(i) issue a writ, order or direction, in the nature of writ in nature of, Certiorari to quash the demand notice no. 0/04400438 dated 26.08.2025 under section 506 of Nagar Nigam Act 1959 demanding house tax and water tax amount Rs 7,73,780/- regarding house no. 1/13/82 situated civil lines Ayodhya, annexed as ANNEXURE NO-1 to this petition. (ii) issue a writ, order or direction, in nature of writ in nature of mandamus to issue a order or direction to opposite parties to issue a fresh and correct demand notice after assessment of house of the petitioner after providing proper opportunity to be heard to the petitioner."

3. It has been submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner has not deposited house tax and water tax since 2018-2019 and initially a Demand Notice was issued to the petitioner on 2 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025

09.12.2024 for Rs.6,53,660/- for arrears up to 31.03.2025. The petitioner moved a representation on 09.12.2024 indicating that she was a 75 years old widow lady and the house in question did not have any water connection from Nagar Nigam, it had no drainage facility, there were no street light and no civic amenities having been provided by the Nagar Nigam. The house tax and water tax that has been charged was exorbitant and that she was ready to pay only that which was due to her, as per the amenities provided by Nagar Nigam. However, instead of giving a corrected bill for house tax and water tax, the respondents have issued another Demand Notice impugned in this writ petition of Rs.7,73,780/-.

4. It has been submitted that without assessment of the house in a correct manner, an arbitrary and illegal Demand has been raised.

5. Learned counsel for the respondent, on the basis of instructions and coloured photographs of the house in question, has stated that there is a deliberate concealment and misrepresentation amounting to fraud. The house in question is two storey house situated in Civil Lines, Ayodhya and is being used for non-residential purposes and at least two/three offices, one of Reliance, an Office of Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment and an private Income Tax Advocate's chamber, are running in the building in question which is apparent from the coloured photographs of the frontage of the house in question.

6. Let a short counter affidavit be filed by the respondent within ten days.

7. List this case on 26.11.2025 at the first case in the fresh cases list."

3. In pursuance of such order the Nagar Nigam Ayodhya, has filed a short counter affidavit sworn by the Chief Tax Assessment Officer, Ayodhya, wherein it has been stated that the writ petition is riddled with misrepresentation and concealment of fact. The building in question is situated on the main road and in Civil Lines area of Ayodhya, it is a non-residential building and has several Offices and Shops on rent, for example Reliance Jio, ACC Cement, Office of the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment and the private chamber of Income Tax Advocate's. The petitioner has not paid House Tax and Water Tax for the building since Financial Years- 2018-2019. The contention raised by the petitioner that there is no facility of street light, is false. The building in question being adjacent to the main road in Civil Lines, Ayodhya, has facility of street light available since long. There is one water pipeline running close i.e. within 10 meters of the aforesaid building and Water Charges are being levied on the 3 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025 basis Section 55 of the U.P. Water Supply and Sewage Act, 1975, and Rule 2 of the Jal Sansthan (Radius regarding Levy of Water Tax) Rules, 1993. Sewage tax is not being levied as the building does not have any sewer line. A notice of demand was issued under Section 506 of the U.P. Municipal Corporation Act for an amount of Rs.6,53,660/- for arrears of House Tax and Water Tax since Financial Years-2018-2019 upto 31.03.2025 initially and later on, another Notice of demand was issued for an amount of Rs.7,73,780/- including simple interest @ 12% per annum as applicable under Section 221-A of the U.P. Municipal Corporation Act, 1959.

4. The petitioner has filed the Rejoinder affidavit today which is taken on record, wherein it has been stated that calculation of Tax has been wrongly done. It has been stated further that there is no concealment or misrepresentation in the writ petition and the building in question is jointly owned by the petitioner and her son Santosh Kumar Dwivedi and was declared commercial by the Opposite parties in the year 2008 and since 2008, the petitioner has been continuously paying House Tax and Water Tax at commercial rates upto Financial Year 2017-2018.

5. It has been further submitted that electric pole and light was installed by the husband of the petitioner in front of the house of the petitioner at his own expense and drainage Nali is not in existence. There is no sewer line facility provided by the Nagar Nigam. There is no water connection either but the petitioner has been paying Water Tax to the Nagar Nigam.

6. The annual rental value of the house in question has also been disputed.

7. We have gone through the contents of the writ petition again to determine whether there is any concealment as referred to by the respondents in their short counter affidavit.

8. We find that in Paragraph-4 there is a mention of the petitioner being senior citizen having House No.1/13/82 situated in Civil Lines, Ayodhya, and in paragraph-6 it has been stated that there is no facility given by the Nagar Nigam to the petitioner, Munni Devi, no light, no water water connection, no sewerage, no Nali/Drainage. Yet demand notice Rs.6,53,000/-. It has also been stated that the petitioner made an application on 19.12.2024, copy of which has been filed as Annexure- 3 to the petition. Without disposing of the application and without assessment of the house being done, an incorrect, arbitrary and illegal demand notice has been sent on 26.08.2025 of Rs.7,73,708/-. issued on 09.12.2024 4 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025 The tax has been increased arbitrarily. No procedure has been followed for computation. An anti-dated auction notice has also been pasted on the house of the petitioner on 28.10.2025. The Nagar Nigam employees are threatening to seal the house of the petitioner.

9. We have also gone through the Annexures to the writ petition and we find copies of notices issued by the Nagar Nigam, Ayodhya, as aforesaid and also an Application/ Representation submitted by the petitioner only on 19.12.2024 to the Nagar Ayukta, Nagar Nigam, Ayodhya. Such application does not have any proof of its receipt in the office of the Nagar Nigam, Ayodhya, also there is no postal receipt filed to show that the same was posted.

10. From a perusal of the said representation, it is evident that the petitioner has again stated that she is a 75-years old widow and a notice was issued on 09.12.2020 demanding House tax and Water tax, whereas the Nagar Nigam has not given any connection, nor has provided any drainage facility, nor is there any light or Sewer facility in the property in question provided by the Nagar Nigam, and that in the past the petitioner had deposited almost every tax that had been demanded. Because the petitioner has been ill for the past four or five years, she could not deposit the tax in later years.

11. There is no denial in the rejoinder affidavit submitted by the petitioner today of the house in question being purely commercial property and having offices of Reliance Jio, ACC Cement, Uttar Pradesh State Vigilance Establishment and a private Lawyer’s chamber in it. The petitioner is only disputing the tax computed by the respondent Nagar Nigam on the basis of no facility being provided by the Nagar Nigam of Water/ Sewerage pipeline. The question of demand of Water tax/ Sewerage charges has been settled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Jalkal Vibhag Nagar Nigam & Ors. v. Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation & Anr. reported in 2021 SCC OnLine SC 960.

12. If the petitioner is aggrieved by the demand made by the Nagar Nigam/Municipal Corporation, it can certainly approach the Appellate Authority. The petitioner can file an Appeal under Section 472 of the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1959, before the Civil Judge (Small Causes), Ayodhya, who has been the nominated Authority to decide such Appeals.

13. The petitioner’s appeal, if filed, will be decided in accordance with law, taking into account rent receipts filed by the petitioner with regard to rent she receives from the Offices/ Shops/ Showrooms of Reliance Jio, ACC Cement, Uttar Pradesh State Vigilance 5 WRIC No. 10952 of 2025 Establishment and the private Lawyer’s chamber who is running his practice from the same premises.

14. The writ petition stands dismissed. (Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra,J.) (Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J.) November 26, 2025 N.PAL NARESH PAL NARESH PAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench Lucknow Bench