राइट ए लेटर टू द एडिटर ऑफ टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया कंप्लेनिंग अबाउट करप्शन प्रीवेलिंग अमाउंट मुंसिपल कॉर्पोरेशन रिप्लाई ऑफ योर सिटी
Answers
Answer:
Equivalent citations: (1934) 36 BOMLR 568, 152 Ind Cas 947
Author: Mirza
Bench: Mirza
JUDGMENT Mirza, J.
1. This suit has arisen out of an unfortunate dispute between the plaintiffs who are the Municipal Corporation of the city of Bombay and as such represent the interests of the rate-payers of that city, and the defendant who is the Secretary of State for India in Council and as such represents in this case the interests of the tax-payers of the Bombay Presidency. The dispute is in respect of the liability of the Secretary of State for India in Council to contribute a certain amount annually towards defraying the expenses of primary education in the city of Bombay, under an arrangement said to have been arrived at between the Bombay Government and the plaintiff Municipality. [After referring to the efforts made to settle the dispute between the parties, his Lordship proceeded:]
2. The case for the plaintiffs is that as the result of certain negotiations in the years 1916 and 1917 a contract was eventually arrived at between the plaintiffs and the Government of Bombay by which the Government of Bombay agreed to share equally with the plaintiffs the expenses which the plaintiffs would incur on primary education in the city of Bombay over and above the plaintiffs' net budgetted expenditure for that purpose during the year 1917-18, the half share of Government being made payable at or before the end of each financial year following that in which the expenditure was incurred. In consequence of the contract so arrived at the plaintiffs incurred large expenditure in respect of primary education in the years 1918-19, 1919-20 and 1920-21, the expenditure incurred by them in each of these years being in excess of the net budgetted expenditure for the year 1917-18. The Bombay Government paid up their share of this excess expenditure in accordance with the bills submitted to them by the plaintiffs. Thereafter the Bombay Government invented excuses and made provisional payments only which were short of the bills which were submitted by the plaintiffs from time to time, with the result that an aggregate sum of Rs. 12,05,127-5-2 has remained unpaid and the plaintiffs are seeking to recover this amount together with interest from the Secretary of State for India in Council. The plaintiffs have reserved in this suit their right to proceed against the defendant in respect of such further amounts as might become payable by him for the years subsequent to 1925-26, the present claim being in respect of the years 1922-23, 1923-24, 1924-25 and 1925-26 only. The plaintiffs have since filed a suit in this Court claiming certain amounts in respect of short payments made during such subsequent years. That suit is not placed before me for trial but the decision in the present suit, it is agreed, will govern that suit also