T.C. Raghavan, J.

1. The Mattancherry Municipality (now the Corporation of Cochin) proposed to assess the petitioners, the White Jews Synagogue (the second petitioner being a tenant of the first petitioner, the Synagogue), to property tax for section Nos. 471, 692 and 156. Later on, the proposal regarding the latter two survey numbers was dropped and the tax was confined to 20 cents in section No. 471 leaving 8 cents therein also. The capital value of the land was proposed at Rs. 500 per cent, which again was reduced on representation to Rs. 400 per cent. Thus, the petition is confined to the tax on 20 cents in section No. 471, which is not agricultural land, nor land occupied by, or adjacent and appurtenant to, a building.

2. Two contentions are urged by Mr. S. Boothalingam Iyer, the counsel of the petitioners. The first is that section 99 (3) of the Kerala Municipalities Act of 1960 as amended by the Kerala Municipalities (Amendment) Act of 1963 is ultra vires the powers of the State Legislature, because the subject legislated upon is covered by Entry 86 in List I, the Union List, in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and not covered by Entry 49 of List II, the State