1964 (11) TMI 7 - SUPREME COURT

Whether a petition under article 226 of the Constitution praying solely for the refund of money alleged to have been illegally collected by the State as tax, is maintainable under article 226?

Whether a writ of mandamus, if a case for its issue is made out, can be issued under article 226 for the refund of taxes collected prior to the coming into force of the Constitution, though the final assessment was made subsequent to January 26, 1950, and was later set aside by the appellate authority?

Held that:- Normally petitions solely praying for the refund of money against the State by a writ of mandamus are not to be entertained. The aggrieved party has the right of going to the civil court for claiming the amount and it is open to the State to raise all possible defences to the claim, defences which cannot, in most cases, be appropriately raised and considered in the exercise of writ jurisdiction.

The appellant has not made out any case for the issue of a writ of mandamus for the said purpose, thus the High Court rightly refused the writ of mandamus for the recovery of the sum of ₹ 62,809-5-2 alleged to have been realised by the respondent between 1944 and 1948. Appeal dismissed.