M/S Hotel Meghdoot And Anr. vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.

Facts

The petitioners, M/s Hotel Meghdoot & Anr., filed a writ petition seeking directions for the renewal of their trade license for Petitioner No. 1, an old residential hotel established in 1982. The hotel also operates a licensed bar. The petitioners had been renewing their trade license annually with the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) without hindrance until March 2020. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, they applied for renewal for 2019-2020, but the HMC allegedly did not process the application. Despite subsequent annual applications and representations, the license remained unrenewed. In July 2023, the HMC issued a demand notice for Rs. 12,96,000/- for license fees, penalty, and arrears for renewal up to 13.08.2023. The petitioners contended that this demand was impermissible and that the HMC had sat on their renewal applications.

Held

The Court held that the renewal of the Certificate of Enlistment (Trade License) is not dependent on obtaining separate permissions or licenses, citing the judgments relied upon by the petitioners. The Court found that the HMC had unduly delayed the renewal process and that the demand of Rs. 12,96,000/- for license fees under Section 192(1) and (2) of the HMC Act, 1980, along with penalty and arrears, at the time of renewal was not permissible, as these charges were not demanded during previous renewals. The Court clarified that while the Certificate of Enlistment is for enlistment purposes, charges/fees under heads like Conservancy, eating house, restaurant, hotel, bar, arrears, and penalty can be demanded in accordance with law. Regarding the liability for charges under Section 192, conservancy, and arrears, the Court made no adjudication on merits, stating that these may be demanded after affording the petitioners an opportunity of being heard and that the petitioners could raise all objections in such proceedings. The Court directed the HMC to renew the Certificate of Enlistment for the period prayed for, charging applicable fees, and clarified that this renewal does not permit carrying on business solely on the basis of the Certificate of Enlistment. The Court also noted that the disposal of the writ petition does not preclude the HMC from recovering applicable charges/fees, including penalty, in accordance with law.

Key Issues

1. Whether the renewal of the Certificate of Enlistment (Trade License) for Petitioner No. 1 is dependent on obtaining separate permissions or licenses under the Howrah Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, or other statutes? 2. Whether the petitioners are liable for the charges demanded by the Howrah Municipal Corporation under Section 192 of the HMC Act, 1980, conservancy, and arrears, as part of the renewal process? Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioners argued, relying on judgments like Vijai Shree Pvt. Limited Vs. Howrah Municipal Corporation & Ors., Harvinder Singh Vs. Kolkata Municipal Corporation & Ors., and Sri Tripti Kumar Chatterjee Vs. Principal Secretary and Ors., that an application for renewal of a certificate of enlistment cannot be refused or made conditional on obtaining other permissions or licenses. They contended that the demand for Rs. 12,96,000/- was not permissible as such charges were not demanded during previous renewals and that the Certificate of Enlistment is solely for enlistment purposes. Revenue/State's Arguments: The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) submitted that the demand notice was issued after processing the application for 2019-20, but the demand was not paid, leading to non-renewal. They also noted that an offline application for 2020-21 could not be traced due to the pandemic, no application was submitted for 2021-22, and an application for 2022-23 was rejected due to a mismatch in area. The HMC also stated that renewal applications are only valid for the year received and fresh applications are required annually.