MUNICIPAL CORPN. OF GREATER BOMBAY AND ORS. versus HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPN. AND ANR.

Citation: [2001] SUPP. 2 S.C.R. 50 · Decided: 23-08-2001 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: V.N. KHARE · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
MUNICIPAL CORPN. OF GREATER BOMBAY AND ORS. 
v. 
HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPN. AND ANR. 
AUGUST 23, 2001 
B 
[V.N. KHARE AND B.N. AGRA WAL, JJ.] 
Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888: 
Ss.J(a), 170, 220, 220A and 231-'Drain' belonging to State Government 
C but falling within the municipal limit of Municipal Corporatio'n-lndustries 
discharging industrial effluents in the drain-Municipal Corporation serving 
on industries notice of demand of sewerage charges-Held, drain belongs to 
State Government and does not vest in Municipal Corporation-Vesting in 
Municipal Corporation of water channel or drain belonging to State 
D Government can take place only in the manner provided uls. 220A-As and 
when State Government vests or transfers the drain to Municipal Corporation 
it would be entitled to levy and realise sewerage charges from industries. 
Words and Phrases 
E 
'Vest', 'vesting' 'belonging' occurring in s.220 of Mumbai Municipal 
Corporation Act-Meaning of 
Expression 'madeover' occurring in s.220-A of Mumbai Municipal 
Corporation Act-Meaning of 
Certain land within the local limit of the appellant-Municipal 
F Corporation was acquired by the State Government for setting up industries. 
There was a drain running through the said acquired land. The State 
Government leased out portion of the acquired land to the respondents who 
set up industries thereon. Since the respondents started discharging industrial 
efnuents in the drain, the appellant-Corporation served on them a notice of 
G demand under Section 170 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 
for payment of sewerage charges. The respondents challenged the notice in a 
writ petition before the High Court contending that the drain neither vested 
H 
in nor belonged to the Corporation and, therefore, it was not entitled to levy 
and realise the sewerage charges. 
For the Corporation it was contended that since it was assigned the dut} 
50 
... 
MUNICIPAL CORPN. OF GREATER BOMBAY v. HINDU ST AN PETROLEUM CORPN. 
51 
to maintain drains and underground sewer within its limits, any drain not A 
owned by the Corporation vested in it and, therefore, it was entitled to levy 
sewer charges. It was also submitted that a Municipal underground sewer 
passed adjoining to the premises of the respondent and, therefore, under 
Section 231 of the Act, the Corporation was entitled to levy sewer charges. 
High Court allowed the writ petition holding that the drain did not vest in B 
the Corporation nor was there any notice in conformity with Section 231 of 
the Act, and, therefore, the Corporation was not entitled to levy sewer charges. 
Aggrieved, the Municipal Corporation filed the present appeals. 
Dismissing the appeals, the Court 
HELD : I. The drain in which the respondents are discharging the C 
industrial effluents belongs to the State Government and does not vest in the 
Corporation. Therefore, the appellant-Corporation is not entitled to levy or 
realise any sewerage charges from the respondents. [58-D-E) 
2.1. Merely because the Corporation is. entrusted with the duty to D 
maintain water channel and drain and, therefore, the water channel and drain 
belonging to the Government vest in it is not correct. Vesting in the 
Corporation of water channel and drain belonging to the State Government 
can only take place in the manner provided under Section 220A of the 
Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888. (57-H; 58-A) 
2.2. On completion of proceedings of acquisition of the land under the 
Land Acquisition Act, 1894, in view of Section 16 thereof, the right, interests 
E 
and title of the land holder in the land including the easementary right, if 
any, to discharge the water in the drain, stood extinguished and such right 
came to be vested in the State Government. Section 220 of the Mumbai 
Municipal Corporation Act, provides that any drain which vests in the F 
Corporation is a Municipal drain and shall be under the control of the 
Corporation. The word 'vest' means vesting in title, vesting in possession or 
vesting in a limited sense, as indicated in the context in which it is used in a 
particular provision of the Act. The legislative history of the Act shows that the 
expressions 'vesitng in' or 'belonging to' occurring in Section 220 of the Act are G 
not synonyms. What is vested in the Corporation necessarily may not be owned 
by the Corporation. Further, vesting of Government water channel or drain in 
the Corporation as contemplated under Section 220A o

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.