Somnath Iyer, J.

( 1 ) IN this suit, which has been withdrawn to this Court under Article 228 of the Constitution, from the Court of the Civil Judge, Bellary, in which it was originally instituted, the plaintiff is the City Municipal Council of Bellary, and the defendant is the Union of India, owning the southern Railway. The plaintiff, which will be referred to in the course of this judgment as the municipal council, asks for a declaration that it has the right to levy and collect the taxes enumerated in paragraph 5 of the plaint in respect of properties owned by the Union of India and situate within the municipal limits of Bellary. It also asks to make a decree against the Union of india for a sum of Rupees 38,988.

( 2 ) IT is undisputed that the Union of India which owns the Southern Railway, is the owner of sixty-five buildings and twenty vacant lands which are situate within the municipal limits of the bellary City Municipality. It is also not controverted that in respect of these eighty-five properties, the then Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway became liable to pay general property tax and water and drainage tax under a notification of November 26, 1941, promulgated by

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