SC condemns intimidation of officer in property tax collection case

Tamil Nadu: The Chennai High Court reprimanded the District Development Officer who threatened to collect property tax only if the property tax case was withdrawn.

Philipraj of Kanchipuram district filed a petition in the Chennai High Court, stating, “I live in Ammaiyappanallur Panchayat of Uttarameru Union. When I went to pay the property tax on my house, the officials refused to collect the outstanding tax from me. When asked about this, Uttarameru District Development Officer Manickavelu ordered that since a case is pending in the Uttarameru District Property Court regarding the land on which the house is located, a house tax receipt cannot be issued. He stated that this order should be cancelled and an order should be issued to pay the house tax and issue a receipt.”

During the hearing of this case, lawyer A. Ilaiyaperumal argued that the District Development Officer was threatening the petitioner that the house tax could not be collected until the pending case in the Uttarameru Court was withdrawn. The High Court hearing the case had ordered the District Development Officer to appear in person. When the case came up for hearing before Judge V. Lakshmi Narayanan, the District Development Officer appeared in person. At that time, the judge criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling that demanding the withdrawal of such a legal case is a crime under the Contempt of Court Act.

Subsequently, the District Development Officer filed an order stating that the order not to collect the property tax had been withdrawn. The judge accepted this and closed the case, stating that the property tax should be collected from the petitioner.