Court : Patna
Aftab Alam, J.1. The petitioner, Food Corporation of India, seeks to challenge the order, dated 12.09.2006 passed by the Commercial Taxes Officer, Patliputra Circle, Patna under Section 8 of the Bihar Tax On Entry Of Goods Into Local Area For Consumption, Use Or Sale Therein Act, 1993 read with Section 32 of the Bihar Value Added Tax Act, 2005 charging entry tax amounting to Rs. 2,95,72,499.92 paise and penalty of Rs. 8,87,17,499.76 paise (totalling to Rs. 11,82,90,000/-). The entry tax was levied on food-grains (rice and wheat) brought by the petitioner to local areas within the State of Bihar from outside the State and the penalty was imposed as the Commercial Taxes Officer held that the action of the petitioner in not paying entry tax on the entire value of goods imported by it but only on the value of goods sold by it in Bihar during the relevant period amounted to concealment within the meaning of Section 32 of the VAT Act. The impugned order appertains to the first quarter of th...
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Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.1. Both these two writ applications are by the same Company against the same respondents and in relation to similar work involving the same dispute and, as such, with consent of parties, have been taken up together and heard for final disposal on merits at this stage itself.2. The dispute essentially is with regard to compensation payable in relation to cost escalations during period of contract. Petitioner wants implementation of the policy of Railway Board dated 28.09.2007 which, under certain circumstances, removed barrier on price escalation, the agreement amongst parties being subsequent thereto and the Railway contends that the policy would apply only to future contracts thereby meaning to tenders which are floated after policy.3. As the facts are similar in both the writ petitions, in material particulars relevant for decision, the facts of the first case being CWJC No. 16459 of 2008 are being noted in detail. The two writ petitions, for the sake brevit...
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Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.1. Petitioner is the owner of a public carrier truck No. HR55/1330 and while it was carrying for the work undertaken by the Company, cable wiring, machines and other articles and equipments to Bahadurganj in district-Kishanganj being the worksite of the petitioner-Company, the truck was seized by District Transport Officer (DTO), Purnea, respondent No. 2 who is respondent No. 3, in person at Zero Mile, Gulab Bagh in the district of Purnea on 04.04.2007. The writ petition was filed on 25.07.2007 as by then the said respondent had merely held back the truck seized and was not releasing the same. Thus, the writ application was ostensibly filed for release from illegal seizure and compensation for long, illegal detention of the truck. In course of the proceedings on 08.11.2007, a counter affidavit was filed by respondent No. 2, the DTO Purnea and on prima facie satisfaction of this Court that the authority had acted willfully mala fide, he (DTO Purnea) was direct...
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(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NAVANITI PRASAD SINGH) Having heard Shri G.P. Jaiswal, learned Senior Counsel, amicus curiae, at our request in support of the appeal and Shri Ashwani Kumar Sinha, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, we propose to dispose of this appeal at this stage itself. For the reasons in detail recorded in our order dated 04.08.2011 briefly stated when the appeal was listed before us for consideration of the handwritten application sent by the appellant praying for bail stating that though he was literate he was unable to engage any counsel being poor and his earlier bail applications to this Court had already been rejected several times, we found to our shock and dismay that the trial Court in its judgment under appeal had found the appellant to be about 28 years of age which would have made him about 16 years at the time when the alleged occurrence took place for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. We became curious and anxious in this regard. What shocke...
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1. Shiva Kirti Singh, J. These seven writ petitions have been treated as analogous matters and heard together because they raise common issues by challenging the vires of Bihar Molasses (Control) (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1999 (Hereinafter referred to as the Validating Act) published in the official gazette on 10.01.2000. Petitioners have also sought for quashing of various demand notices issued pursuant to the aforesaid Validating Act by which they have been directed to pay administrative charges for the molasses consumed by them in their captive distilleries (in case of those petitioners who have sugar mills along with captive distilleries) or for the molasses lifted by them from various sugar mills during the period 1995-2000. In some of the writ petitions interlocutory applications have been filed for refund of administrative charges already paid pursuant to the Validating Act.2. The issues falling for determination in these cases are mainly issues of law. The relevant facts ...
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Ramesh Kumar Datta, J.1. The petitioner-Company has come to this Court for quashing/setting aside the award dated 31.7.2007 (Annexure-1) passed in Reference Case No. 5 of 2006 by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Patna by which he has held the order of transfer dated 21.1.2005 with respect to respondent No. 3 Sri Nalin Sinha from Patna to Hissar Head Quarter w.e.f. 1.2.2005 to be perverse and not sustainable in the eye of law and directed the petitioner to allow him to join at his previous place, i.e., Patna with full back wages and other consequential benefits.2. Shorn of unnecessary details the facts of this case are that respondent No. 3 was appointed as Medical Representative by appointment letter dated 24.6.1986 (Annexure-2) w.e.f. 1.4.1986. The detailed terms and conditions of his service were enumerated in the said appointment letter. In paragraph-15 of the same it was provided that it is a condition of his appointment that his services can be utilized at any place in India a...
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Rajesh Balia, C.J. and Barin Ghosh, J.1. In all these writ petitions the constitutional validity of Bihar Agriculture Produce Market (Repeal) Act, 2006, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Repeal Act of 2006') has been challenged.The petitioners, different in each writ petition, are alleging themselves to represent the interest of the persons employed at Bihar Agriculture Marketing Board, Market/Committees/Bazar Samities, the agriculturists and the Members of the Board / the Committees/Samites.2. The learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners have raised number of contentions which were of various shades and colours but in substance, the contention was(A) that the impugned Act has been enacted without application of mind and a colourable piece of legislation because the Bihar Agriculture Produce Market Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act of 1960') had been tested and upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court as a reasonable restriction on freedom of marketing agriculture produce...
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Shiva Kirti Singh, J.1. All the writ petitions covered by this common judgment have been heard together on the admitted premise that they seek to challenge the constitutionality, legality and vires of Sub-section (4) of Section 23 of the Bihar Tenancy Act, 1885 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), which has been inserted by Bihar Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Bihar Act 21/1993), as well as of provisions in the Bihar Rent Refixation Rules, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules).2. During the hearing of these writ petitions on several dates no dispute or controversy of facts was raised before this Court. All the writ petitions have been argued on the basis of undisputed understanding that on account of fresh assessment of rent under the impugned provisions, treating the land to be under non-permissible industrial or commercial use and, therefore, amenable to revised rent on the basis of its market value, the liability of the petitioners towards rent payable to the State under ...
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Reported in : AIR2010Pat29,2010(58)BLJR175
P.K. Misra, C.J.1. In these writ petitions, the primary challenge is to the validity of the provisions contained in Section 3(1) of the Bihar Electricity Duty Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and also regarding the validity of the notification issued by the State Government fixing the rate of duty payable by the various sugar mills and other organizations generating electricity in their own power plants.The Act was enacted for the levy of duty on the sale and consumption of electrical energy in the State of Bihar. Its validity was once challenged in the Patna High Court mainly on the ground of lack of legislative competence. In decision reported in Indian Aluminium Co. and Anr. v. State of Bihar 1992(1) PLJR 55, the validity of Section 3(2) of the Act was upheld by observing that the electricity duty imposed was a 'tax' and not a 'fee' and the State had the necessary legislative competence.1.1 The present challenge is on account of amendment to Section 3(1) and the conseq...
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S.N. Hussain, J.1. Heard learned counsel for the appellant and learned counsel for the respondents.2. The instant Miscellaneous Appeal filed under the provision of Section 55 of the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950. (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for the sake of brevity) is directed against order dated 05.02.2001, by which the learned Additional District Judge VI. Patna, dismissed Misc. Case (Religious Trust Board) No. 56 of 1997, which was filed by the original appellant Mahanth Chandramani Das and affirmed order dated 15.07.1996, passed by the Chairman of the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (respondent No. 2), by which the original appellant was removed from the post of Trustee of the Trust in question in compliance of Section 28(2)(h)(iii) of the Act.3. The Trust in question is a famous and very important Trust, namely, Baba Bhikham Das Thakurbari (hereinafter referred to as 'the Trust' for the sake of brevity), situated in Mohalla Bakarganj. Bari Path in the hea...
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