9911796707
TMI Blog1973 (2) TMI 15X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... survive - Application dismissed - - - - - Dated:- 23-2-1973 - Judge(s) : P. K. GOSWAMY., B. N. SHARMA. JUDGMENT The judgment of the court was delivered by GOSWAMI C.J.-The petitioner belongs to the Garo community, which is a Scheduled Tribe as defined in clause (25) of article 366 of the Constitution, and is a permanent inhabitant of the Garo Hills District, which is an area specified in Part A of the Table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution. He is a Resident Medical Officer in the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Memorial T. B. Aid Society at Gauhati, an autonomous institution, which received grants-in-aid from the Government of Assam. The Income-tax Officer (respondent No. 1) wrote to the secretary of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r of any person, any income falling within any of the following clauses shall not be included ...... (26) in the case of a member of a Scheduled Tribe as defined in clause (25) of article 366 of the Constitution, residing in any area specified in Part A or Part B of the Table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution or in the State of Nagaland or in the Union Territories of Manipur and Tripura, any income which accrues or arises to him, (a) from any, source in the area, State or Union Territories aforesaid, or (b) by way of dividend or interest on securities. " In Lawrence Singh Ingty's case the Supreme Court struck down the words " who is not in the service of Government " in clause (26) and the same hav ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is question on the scheme and provisions of the Act and particularly of the provisions of section 10 while considering the challenge made against the impugned provision under article 14 of the Constitution. After making the above general observations, we will now deal with the submission of the learned counsel. It is contended that section 10(26) is violative of the Constitution as it discriminates between persons belonging to the same Scheduled Tribe without any rational basis whatsoever. The petitioner, it is said, is a member of the Scheduled Tribe and there is no rational basis to charge him to tax at Gauhati, while if he earned the particular income in Garo Hills, he would have been exempted under the impugned clause. This provision, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e pattern of the Act, therefore, definitely point to the relevance of the accruing or arising of the income in the taxing State in a particular area. It is this pattern which is followed in enacting the exemption clause (26). In this context, we may bear in mind the object for which such an exemption clause has been inserted in the Act. The object clearly is in the interest of the Scheduled Tribe, as also in the interest of the area which that Tribe makes the lot to live in. By exempting the Scheduled Tribe in this behalf for earning income which accrues or arises in the area, not only the members of the Tribe are helped but also the interest of the area is adequately furthered. The members of the Scheduled Tribe earning income which accr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... other qualifications mentioned therein. In the words of that decision : " The complaint in this case is that within the range of the selection made by the State for the purpose of exemption, namely, members of certain Scheduled Tribes residing in specified areas, the law operates unequally and the inequality in question cannot be justified on the basis of any valid classification. " The Supreme Court observed : " The exemption in question was not given to individuals either on the basis of their social status or economic resources. It was given to a class. Hence, individuals as individuals do not come into the picture. " Earlier, the Supreme Court observed: " We know of no legislative practice or history treating Government serva ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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