1. By consent, all the writ petitions are taken up for final disposal. Since the issue involved in all these writ petitions, is similar, they are disposed of by this common order.

2. For the sake of convenience, the facts leading to the filing of W.P(MD)No.12240 of 2016, alone are narrated hereunder:

2.1. The petitioner is the Correspondent of St. John's Matric Higher Secondary School, Kochadai, Madurai. According to the petitioner, it is a recognised and Unaided Minority Educational Institution run and administered by "the Congregation of Claretian Missionaries" - a Society registered under Society Registration Act in Registration No. 33/1986 at Maduari. Later, it was transferred to central Chennai SI. No.141/1996.

2.2. It is claimed by the petitioner that the members of the said Society are all priests and they have dedicated their lives for charitable purpose by providing education to the socially and economically backward children. The Congregation is the Educational Agency of the School. The petitioner school was initially established as a Primary School in the year 2002 and thereafter, in 2005, it was upgraded as a Middle School and as Higher Secondary School in the year 2009. It is now offering education from standards LKG to XII. There are 3,547 students studying in the petitioner school. The medium of instruction is English. There are 131 teaching and 34 non-teaching staffs are working in the School.

2.3. The Congregation, in order to promote education, has established numerous educational institutions viz., two Matriculation Schools, one Higher Secondary School, two Nursing Colleges and other charitable institutions. The members of the said society are all Christians. The Congregation and the Educational Institutions have been recognised as Minority Institutions in terms of Article 30 of the Constitution of India.

2.4. According to the petitioner, they are helping the students hailing from rural background by providing quality education within their affordable reach. A meagre sum is collected from them only to meet out the salary for the staff as fixed by the Fee Determination Committee. The education is being provided as a charity without any intention to earn profits. Neither any capitation fee nor any donation or other fees is collected by the petitioner school.

2.5. The petitioner school is situated in a campus of 2 acres of land within the limits of Madurai Corporation. It has sufficient infrastructural and instructional facilities. The land and the buildings therein stand in the name of the Congregation, viz., the Educational Agency of the school. The land and school buildings are exclusively used for the purposes of the school and not for any other commercial or related purposes. Neither any rent nor any other profit is derived either from the said lands or buildings.

2.6. Since the petitioner school is located within the limits of Madurai City Municipal Corporation, it is covered under Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 [in short 'the Act']. Sections 120 to 125 of the Act deal with the powers and procedures of levying and method of assessing property tax and building tax on various kinds of lands and buildings including the exceptions thereunder. However, the Madurai Corporation did not levy any tax on the lands and the buildings of the petitioner school eversince 2002, in view of the exemption granted to the school buildings and Charitable Institutions under Section 122 of the Act.

2.7. While so, the second respondent - Assistant Commissioner of Madurai issued a provisional Demand Notice demanding payment of Rs. 43,75,257.60/- (Rupees Forty Three Lakhs Seventy Five Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Seven and Paise Sixty only) towards property tax from the petitioner school with effect from 01.04.2008, however, without any prior notice or without providing any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Hence, the petitioner approached the second respondent stating that the petitioner school, being an Educati