Lawfully Yours: By Retd Justice Chandru

Relief order on revised tax applies only to those who challenged it

This refers to a recent order of the Madras High Court on the GCC hiking property tax from the 2022-23 fiscal. While the court upheld the hike in the property tax per se, it stated that revising the rate from April 2022 based on the Corporation Council resolutions adopted on May 26 and May 30, 2022, is illegal and that the increase cannot be retrospective because it could hurt civil rights. It further stated that petitioners who had approached the court and filed the writ contesting the revision do not have to pay tax for the second half of 2022–2023. Please advise whether this order applies only to those petitioners who filed the writ or to all 0discriminatory? What can one do if the order is to be made applicable to others as well? — VS Jayaraman, Motilal Street, Chennai

Since the court has given relief only to those who were before it, the prospective application for them will not be available to others who never challenged it. It must be taken as those who never challenged the revision as not having any grievances. There is no discrimination in such matters.

Records show non-application of mind in granting security cover

I have some doubts regarding the security cover being provided by the State/central governments to individuals. For instance, BJP state president Annamalai and national president JP Nadda are given hi-tech security cover by the government. Who pays for these expenses? Since both of them are only party persons, how can this be allowed and do the respective persons pay for this? How can I elicit the information on the criteria under which security cover is decided? Also, who all are getting benefitted and how much? — Baskar Seshadri, Chennai - 28

Huge amounts are being spent on such people in the name of providing security by the State.

It is no doubt true that State will have to protect the life and liberty of the people who face threat perception. Such are the guaranteed fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Every security review committee, which is periodically convened, will have to take stock of the current situation and decide about its continuation. But that record shows total non-application of the mind.

Further, the list of private persons provided security shows that the majority of them are from Sangh Parivar.

It is an irony that those who spread hate politics are the ones who are being provided State security.

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