Hyderabad: A five-judge bench of Telangana high court, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Justice P Sam Koshy, Justice K Lakshman, Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, and Justice Tukaramji, heard a batch of more than 80 writ petitions dating back to the 1990s. The petitions challenge certain provisions of the Non-Agricultural Land Assessment (NALA) Act, 1963, and an amendment made to its schedule, which was brought into force retrospectively from July 1, 1993. The petitioners, including industries, private hospitals and other entities, urged the court to declare the amendment ultra vires and unconstitutional. After hearing detailed arguments from the petitioners’ counsel and advocate general A Sudarshan Reddy, the bench reserved the matter for orders. According to the petitioners, the Act envisages taxation under different slabs such as industrial, commercial and other non-agricultural categories. The petitioners’ counsel argued that the govt’s action in amending the schedule and imposing the levy retrospectively was illegal. In earlier proceedings, the legislative competence of the state govt to enact the law had also been challenged. The Supreme Court upheld the legislative competence of the state legislature but referred the matter to the high court for fresh consideration on the incidence and quantum of tax.
