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TMI Blog1963 (3) TMI 2X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hedule attached to the said notification at the rate of three pies per maund in respect of salt common, and under item 69 at the rate of annas 10 per maund in respect of salt of all kinds other than common salt. The Municipal Committee, Ludhiana, collected terminal tax on the Sambhar salt at the higher rate under item 69 of the Schedule on the ground that it did not fall under item 68 of the Schedule. The appellant filed a suit against the respondent in the civil court, Ludhiana, claiming refund of the said amount with interest. The respondent, inter alia, contended that Sambhar salt was not common salt and the civil court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit. The Senior Subordinate Judge, Ludhiana, held that Sambhar salt was common salt within the meaning of item 68 of the Schedule, that the imposition of tax on it by the respondent under item 69 of the Schedule was illegal and that, therefore, the court had jurisdiction to entertain the suit. On appeal, the High Court of Punjab proceeded on the assumption that Sambhar salt was salt common, but held that, even so, the civil court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit as the Act provided for a remedy by way of appeal again ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ommissioner or such other officer as may be empowered by the State Government in that behalf ; under sub-section (2) thereof, if on hearing of an appeal under the section, any question as to the liability to, or the principle of assessment of, a tax arises, on which the officer hearing the appeal entertains reasonable doubt, he may, either of his own motion or on the application of any person interested, state the case and refer the same for the opinion of the High Court ; and after the High Court gives its opinion on the question referred to it, the appellate authority shall proceed to dispose of the appeal in conformity with the decision of the High Court. Under section 86, the liability of any person to be taxed cannot be questioned in any manner or by any authority other than that provided in the Act ; under sub-section (2) thereof, no refund of any tax shall be claimed by any person otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules thereunder. It will be seen from the aforesaid provisions that the power to impose a terminal tax and the liability to pay the same is conferred or imposed on the municipal committee and the assessee respectively by the provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to sue merely, but provides no particular form of remedy : there, the party can only proceed by action at common law. But there is a third class, viz., where a liability not existing at common law is created by a statute which at the same time gives a special and particular remedy for enforcing it ......... The remedy provided by the statute must be followed, and it is not competent to the party to pursue the course applicable to cases of the second class. " It is clear from the said passage that in a case where the liability is created by a statute, a party aggrieved must pursue the special remedy provided by it and he cannot pursue his remedy in a civil court. This principle was approved by the Judicial Committee in Secretary of State v. Mask and Co. The High Courts in India also accepted the principles and applied it to different situations : see Bhaishankar Nanabhai v. Municipal Corporation of Bombay ; Zamindar of Ettayapuram v. Shankarappa. But there is also an equally well settled principle governing the scope of the civil court's jurisdiction in a case where a statute created a liability and provided a remedy. Lord Macnaghten in East Fremantle Corporation v. Annois, state ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cipal Committee, Montgomery v. Sant Singh, a Full Bench of the Lahore High Court had to consider the question whether a suit would lie in a civil court for an injunction restraining a Municipal Committee from realizing the tax demanded from a person on the ground that he was not the owner of the lorries, the subject-matter of tax, and consequently, the demand made on him was illegal and ultra vires the Municipal Committee. Din Mohammad J., speaking for the court, elaborately considered the case law on the subject and expressed his conclusion in the following words : " Any special piece of legislation may provide special remedies arising therefrom and may debar a subject from having recourse to any other remedies, but that bar will be confined to matters covered by the legislation and not to any extraneous matter. A corporation is the creature of a statute and is as much bound to act according to law as the constituents thereof, namely, the individuals ruled by the corporation and if the corporation does an act in disregard of its charter and intends to burden any individual with the consequences of its illegal act, an appeal by that individual to the general law of the land can i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... either expressly or impliedly barred. A statute, therefore, expressly or by necessary implication, can bar the jurisdiction of civil courts in respect of a particular matter. The mere conferment of special jurisdiction on a tribunal in respect of the said matter does not in itself exclude the jurisdiction of civil courts. The statute may specifically provide for ousting the jurisdiction of civil courts ; even if there was no such specific exclusion, if it creates a liability not existing before and gives a special and particular remedy for the aggrieved party, the remedy provided by it must be followed. The same principle would apply if the statute had provided for the particular forum in which the remedy could be had. Even in such cases, the civil court's jurisdiction is not completely ousted. A suit in a civil court will always lie to question the order of a tribunal created by a statute, even if its order is, expressly or by necessary implication, made final, if the said tribunal abuses its power or does not act under the Act but in violation of its provisions. Let us now apply the said principles to the facts of the present case. The liability to pay terminal tax is created b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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