Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:48265-DB Court No. - 2 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 7527 of 2025 Petitioner :- Sachin Verma Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Secy. Revenue Deptt. Lko. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Navneet Kumar Mishra Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Kunwar Dhananjay Singh,Namit Sharma Hon'ble Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J. Hon'ble Brij Raj Singh,J. Vaklatnama filed by Shri Virendra Singh, Advocate on behalf of respondent no.4 today is taken on record. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Standing Counsel for the State-Respondents and Shri Virendra Singh, learned counsel for respondent no.4. In pursuance of the earlier order dated 11.08.2025 passed by this Court, Mr. Utkarsh Roy, Executive Engineer, Water Works Department, Nagar Nigam, Zone-I, Lalbagh, Lucknow is present in person before this Court today. It has been submitted by learned counsel for Jal Kal Vibhag, Nagar Nigam that they have separate standing counsels on the panel for the Jal Kal Vibhag, Nagar Nigam and for the Lucknow Nagar Nigam. A notice was initially and wrongly accepted by Shri Namit Sharma, Advocate on behalf of respondent no.4. It has been submitted by learned counsel for the respondent no.4 that the petitioner, in this writ petition, has stated that he had purchased the house in question on 19.12.2014 through a registered sale deed but did not apply for mutation in time. The house of the petitioner does not have any water connection, therefore, he did not pay any water tax or sewerage tax. He only paid house tax regularly. All of a sudden, the petitioner received a bill of water tax in the year 2014 wherein arrears have been mentioned as Rs.1,214/- only. Now, by the impugned recovery certificate,respondent no.4 is demanding Rs.2,12,979/-, although the water tax has been paid upto the year 2017. It has been argued that the recovery certificate for water tax for the period 2018-2025 has been issued without jurisdiction, as there is no water connection in the house of the petitioner. It has been submitted by Shri Virendra Singh, learned counsel for the respondent no.4 that on the basis of the judgment rendered in Civil Appeal No.6107 of 2021 and other connected matter "Jalkal Vibhag Nagar Nigam and others vs. Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation and another" decided by Hon'ble Supreme Court on 22.10.2021, Section 56, which is a provision in relation to the incidence of the tax, provides that tax mentioned in Section 52 of the U.P. Water Supply and Sewerage Act would be recoverable ; (a) from the occupiers of the premises, in the case of premises connected with water supply or, as the case may be, with the sewer of a Jal Sansthan and (b), from the owner of the premises, in the case of premises not connected with water supply or the sewer of the Jal Sansthan. Section 56 is a clear indicator of the tax being in the nature of a compulsory exaction arising from the fact that the premises comprise land and building situated within the area of the Jal Sansthan. Section 52 and Section 56 also indicate that the intention of the legislature is to collect water tax and sewerage tax from the occupier of the premises, where the premises are connected with water supply or, as the case may be, with a sewer of the Jal Sansthan, and in case where the premises are not connected, from the owner of the premises. Therefore, the payment of water tax and sewerage tax is regardless of whether the premises are connected with water supply or with a sewer of the Jal Sansthan. There is no exemption from the payment of water tax and sewerage tax so long as a provision for water supply or sewerage is made by the Jal Sansthan in the area in which the land on which the house of the owner is situated falls. The Hon'ble Supreme Court rejected the constitutional challenge to the validity of Section 52 (1)(a) and Section 55 (b)(1) and Section 56 of the U. P. Water Supply and Sewerage Act and allowed the appeal filed by the Lucknow Nagar Nigam, thereby setting aside the order passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of Court dated 07.03.2014. It has also been submitted by learned counsel for the respondent no.4 that no independent assessment of water tax and sewerage tax is made by Jal Kal Vibhag, Nagar Nigam and they rely upon the assessment of house tax made by the Nagar Nigam. Since the Nagar Nigam has retrospectively assessed the property in question and increased the assessment value, arrears w.e.f. 01.04.2010 have also been shown against the petitioner. The total amount payable by the petitioner, after adjusting the amount already paid, is Rs.2,12,954/- i.e. Rs.1,58,921/- towards water tax and Rs.38,140/- towards sewerage tax upto March, 2025. Learned counsel for respondent no.4 has produced before this Court the instructions including calculation chart. It has also been submitted that in case the petitioner is aggrieved by the assessment of house tax by the Nagar Nigam, on the basis of which water tax and sewerage tax payable by him, he has the remedy of appeal, which he has not filed. Copy of such instructions is kept on record. This petition is disposed of with a direction to the petitioner to pay the amount as demanded by respondent no.4 in three monthly installments. Order Date :- 18.8.2025 Mahesh Digitally signed by :- MAHESH KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench Digitally signed by :- MAHESH KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench