Devan Ramachandran, J.

In all its hues, chroma, variations and countenance, the claim for exemption from payment of building tax under the Kerala Building Tax Act, 1975 (for short, 'the Act') is embedded on one provision, namely, section 3(1) therein. Since all such exemptions has its hypostatis pinned on this provision, a reading of the same becomes necessary in order to travel into the ambit and bounds of the power and the same is, therefore, extracted as under:

"3. Exemptions - (1) Nothing in this Act shall apply to -

(a) buildings owned by the Government of Kerala or the Government of India or any local authority; and

(b) buildings used principally for religious, charitable or educational purposes or as factories or workshops [or cattle/pig/poultry farms or poly houses].

Explanation I - For the purposes of this sub-section, "charitable purpose" includes relief of the poor and free medical relief."

2. It is ineluctable from even an exfacie reading of the Section that exemption can be claimed and granted under its mandate only to buildings that are used principally for the purposes itemized therein. Discernibly, the principal use of a building for educational purpose would confer it worthy of such exemption. The question here is, if an education institution imparting teaching in Nursing gets itself attached or affiliated to a hospital for its clinical requirements would then obtain itself to be viewed as being used principally for educational purposes. The affirmative assertion to the questions is the contentions of the appellant in this appeal.

3. This appeal has been preferred by the appellants against the judgment of the learned single Judge dismissing the writ petition thereby repelling their claim for exemption, on grounds afore-indicated, from payment of building tax for a hospital being run by them.

4. We have heard Sri.V.M.Kurian, assisted by Sri.Isac.T.Paul, the learned counsel for the appellants and the learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents.

5. The appellants claim that they are running a College of Nursing as also a School of Nursing offering educational courses leading to the degree of B.Sc.Nursing and M.Sc.Nursing and that as is imperatively necessitated under the Regulations issued by the Nursing Council of India, they have to have a 120-150 bedded parent/affiliated hospital for each programme as an essential clinical facility. They assert that they are thus obligated to run a hospital by name Sanjoe Hospital which they maintain is the parent hospital as required under the Regulations and that since the said hospital provides clinical facilities to the College of Nursing and the School of Nursing run by them, they are entitled to exemption from payment of building tax for the hospital building. This claim is obviously underpinned on the postulation that the said hospital has been set up essentially for educational purposes.

6. The College of Nursing and the School of Nursing run by the appellants have been admittedly exempted from payment of building tax under the provisions of the Act. However, in the case of the hospital, such exemption was denied by the Government and as a consequence, the Tahsildar, being the assessing authority, issued an order assessing the hospital building to tax under the Act. The writ petition was filed by the appellants challenging the orders of the Government denying exemption and that of the Tahsildar assessing the hospital to tax. These orders were produced in the writ petition as Exts.P9 and P10 respectively.

7. The learned single Judge, however, dismissed the writ petition holding that the appellants are not entitled to the prayers made therein since the issue, as to whether a hospital that is attached to a Medical College is entitled to claim exemption from the charge of tax under the Act, has already been answered to the contrary by a Division Bench of this Court in the decision reported in Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute v. Government