The Municipal Commissioner's power to amend the Municipal Assessment Book under S. 192 of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, is solely vested in the Commissioner and cannot be invoked by an assessee to review orders of the Hearing Officer or the Tribunal.

BHASKAR BHATTACHARYA, J.

( 1 ) BY this writ application the writ petitioners, some of the owners of Bardan Market, have prayed for direction upon the Calcutta Municipal Corporation to dispose of the application for review filed under S. 192 of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 (Act" ).

( 2 ) THE following facts are not in dispute. A notice under S. 184 (3) of the Act was served upon the petitioners proposing enhancement of annual valuation of their respective shops. Pursuant to such notice, the petitioners filed written objection disputing the proposed annual valuation and ultimately the Hearing Officer-III passed an order determining fresh annual valuation.

( 3 ) BEING dissatisfied, the petitioners preferred appeal before the Municipal Assessment Tribunal but for non-compliance with the necessity of law of depositing current amount at the enhanced rate as provided in S. 189 (6) of the Act, the appeal was not disposed of on merit and the same abated. Subsequently, the petitioners preferred a writ application before this court being W. P. No. 2107 of 2001 complaining that some other shops of the same market have been assessed at a lower rate by Assessment Tribunal on an appeal preferred by those owners and thus the Municipal authorities have discriminated the petitioners by claiming taxes at a higher rate.

( 4 ) THE said writ application was ultimately dismissed by Barin Ghosh J. , thereby holding that in case of a judicial or quasi judicial pronouncement the question of discrimination did not arise and until the order passed by Hearing Officer was set aside by appropriate forum the same was binding. Ultimately, His Lordship granted liberty to the petitioners to discharge their obligations under law and to make the appeal prefect, if at all any such appeal had been filed, and three months time was given for disposal of the appeal if the petitioners deposited the current amount as required under S. 189 (6) of the Act. His Lordship further held that the said order of dismissal of the writ application would not prevent the petitioners from approaching the adjudicator in accordance with law to have a review of his adjudication, if that is permissible under law. Further liberty was given to the petitioners to approach superior authority seeking revision of the adjudication, if permissible.

( 5 ) THE petitioners complain that pursuant to such liberty given by Barin Ghosh, J. , they filed an application before the Municipal Corporation for review of the order of the Hearing Officer on the ground that the appellate tribunal has assessed some of the shops of the same building at the flat rate Rs. 1. 50 paise per sq. ft. whereas the shops of the petitioners have been valued at a higher rate.

( 6 ) SINCE the Municipal Commissioner has not passed any order on such application of the petitioner, they have come up with the instant writ application.

( 7 ) THE learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Corporation has opposed the application contending that no application for review is permissible under law for reconsideration of order passed by the Hearing Officer and as such the Municipal authority is under no obligation to dispose of the application filed by the petitioners.

( 8 ) THE learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners on the other hand strongly relies upon the provisions contained in S. 192 of the Act and submits that his clients are entitled to maintain an application for review before Municipal Commissioner notwithstanding the fact that their appeal has been dismissed for non-compliance of the provision contained in S. 189 (6) of the Act.

( 9 ) THEREFORE, the sole question that arises for determination in this writ application is whether Municipal Commissioner has power to review an order passed by Hearing Officer enhancing valuation of a property in exercise of powers conferred under S. 192 of the Act.

( 10 ) IN order to appreciate the aforesaid question involved in this writ application, it will

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