company is not owner of the lands assigned.

Swamikkannu, J.

1. In all these writ petitions, the main point raised on behalf of the petitioners is that when once the power of resumption of the lands assigned to the petitioners is vested with the respondent-Government, it cannot be held that the lands in question are owned by the petitioners absolutely, in other words as full owners, so as to hold that the petitioners in these writ petitions are liable to pay urban land tax. The petitioners in these four petitions belong to one group of companies, known as Sundaram Fasteners Ltd., Padi, Madras-50. The prayer of the petitioner in W.P. No 4172 of 1982 reads as follows:

To issue a writ of certiorari calling for the records in C.M.A. No. 133 of 1978 on the file of the Urban Land Tax Tribunal, Chingleput, and quash the order therein confirming the order of the Assistant Commissioner of Urban Land Tax, Madras-7, in U.L.T. Case No. 4 of 1385-Korattur, dated 23.6.1978.

Similar prayers have been made in W.P.Nos.4173, 4174 and 4175 of 1982 on behalf of the respective petitioners therein.

2. The contents of the affidavit accompanying the writ petition in W.P. No. 4172 of 1982, disclose the following facts, which may be noted as representing similar facts in all the writ petitions as well. The petitioner (in W.P. No. 4172 of 1982) is a Company licensed under the Industrial Development Regulation Act and is engaged in the manufacture of authomobile components for the manufacture of ancillary items. In pursuance of the grant of licence to manufacture by the Government, the promoter of the petitioner company, Messrs. T.V. Sundaram Iyengar & Sons Ltd., applied to the Government of Tamil Nadu for acquisition and assignment of lands for the establishment of factories. In view of the importance of the items to automobile manufacturers, the Government agreed to acquire and assign certain lands in Padi, Kakapallam and Villivakkam Villages, The Government took out proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act and acquired and assigned lands in favour of Messrs. T.V.S. & Sons Limited, after entering into various agreements with the Company and assigning properties in their favour. By Government Orders dated 25.3.19601 and 16.11.1961 the Government directed acquisition of lands for the purpose of assignment to the Company for establishment of factories. By G.O.Ms. No. 4823 dated 8.11.1961 the Government laid down certain conditions to be followed by the Company regarding maintenance of tank, channels etc. By Articles of Agreement entered into between the Company and the Government, it was agreed that the Governor shall executive certain documents vesting the lands in the Company upon payment of all the moneys mentioned in the agreement and upon certain conditions.

3. The Company was required to establish the new undertakings, pay appropriate assessments annually or ground-rent and in the event of failure on the part of the company to establish factories, it was stipulated that the lands were liable to be resumed by the Government, in which event, the compensation payable to the Company in respect of the resumed lands shall be the value of the lands at the time of the acquisition and assignment excluding 15 per cent solatium or the market value prevailing at the time of resumption whichever is less. It is this particular aspect that is very much stressed on behalf of the petitioners herein while putting forth their respective cases for exempting the lands in question from the levy of urban land tax on the ground that the lands are not absolutely owned by the petitioners, but only enjoyed as assignee-holders on behalf of the Government in that the Government can resume the lands assigned at any moment. The Government had also option to resume the lands if they remained unused. In pursuance of the agreements, the Government had also fixed the value of the lands at Rs. 5,060 per acre. Even at the time of the transfer of the lands to the new undertakings of the promoter Company, the Government had permi