P. R. GOKULAKRISHNAN, C. J.

( 1 ) THIS Letters Patent Appeal is directed against the order of the learned Single Judge (Coram : A. P. Ravani, J.) dt. Nov. 23, 1988 passed in special civil application No. 5662 of 1988. The Special Civil Application is for directing the respondents to pay the amount of reward at the rate of 10% of the recoverable amount from the Company as per Annexure l to the special civil application with interest and declaring the action of the respondents regarding non-payment of reward to the petitioner as arbitrary, capricious, whimsical and illegal. There is a further prayer for declaring the order of respondent No. 2 bearing No. 3599 dt. Nov. 21, 1987, Annexure n to the special civil application, as null and void and declaring the same as unconstitutional, illegal and fabricated on non-existing and irrelevant grounds.

( 2 ) THE Short facts of the case for the purpose of disposal of this Letters patent Appeal are that the appellant seems to have given information to the Municipal Corporation, Baroda, by letter dt. 10-10-85, Annexure e to the special civil application, regarding the octroi evasion. In this letter the appellant has stated that M/s. Gujarat Communications and Electronics Ltd. at G. I. D. C. Makarpura, Baroda has evaded octroi duty and that he will furnish all information and he is entitled to get the reward for the same. In this letter the appellant has stated that he will be giving more details on demand if asked in person. Ultimately the Municipal Corporation had not granted any award to the appellant herein alleging that it had not benefited by any information given by the appellant herein. In the letter dt. 21-11-87, Annexure n to the petition, the Assistant Municipal Commissioner (R), Baroda has stated as follows :"as per your information we have not got any material imported by the Company without payment of octroi. Therefore, your application to get reward is hereby filed. Please note. "

( 3 ) AGGRIEVED by such an order, the appellant had come forward with special civil application No. 5662 of 1988. In his application he has made allegations against the officers concerned regarding their lethargy in detecting the real culprit who had evaded octroi and has also stated that there is a definite evasion of octroi by the Company against which he had given information and that the recovery of certain amounts as stated in Annexure l, is made which will entitle the petitioner to the reward as per the provisions of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act and the resolutions passed by the Municipal Corporation.

( 4 ) THE learned single Judge rejected the special civil application on the ground that the claim in the special civil application is in the nature of money claim and such relief cannot be granted by way of petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution. The learned Judge has also stated that the averments made by the appellant herein are disputed questions of fact and they cannot be resolved by resorting to the petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution as for resolving the same evidence has to be recorded. The learned Judge has also finally held that the appellant had, in respect of the same cause of action, filed special civil application No. 3776 of 1988 and had withdrawn the same unconditionally. The said order is at Annexure w to the petition. The learned single Judge held that the appellant is not entitled to file the present special civil application. Aggrieved by the said order, this letters patent appeal has been filed.

( 5 ) MR. K. B. Pande, the party in person, argued the case himself and alleged that there is colourable exercise of power by the authority concerned in rejecting his claim and that he has made out a case for the purpose of getting reward and also established that there is octroi evasion by the company concerned. For the purpose of colourable exercise of power Mr. Pande referred to the submission made by the Octroi Superintendent as early as in the year

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