J U D G M E N T

The petitioner is an educational institution established by a trust and is also stated to be a minority educational institution, running a Dental Sciences and Research Centre. By the impugned order at Ext.P8, the petitioner has been saddled with property tax under the provisions of the Kerala Panchayath Raj Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as 'Act'). It is seeking to challenge the aforementioned order that the petitioner is before this Court.

2. I have heard Sri.M Sasindran, the learned counsel for the petitioner, as well as Sri.Kodoth Sreedharan the learned counsel for the respondent – Panchayath. 3. The petitioner challenges the demand of property tax, essentially contending that it is entitled to the benefit of exemption with reference to the provisions of Section 207 (1)(b) of the Act. For ease of reference, the afore provision is extracted as under:

“207. Exemption from tax, cess etc,:- (1) The following buildings and lands shall be exempted from property tax as may be levied under Section 203 and service cess as may be levied under sub-section (2) of Section 200, namely:-

a) ..........

b building exclusively used for educational purposes or allied purposes u