The Bombay High Court dismissed today a Haji Ali Dargah Trust plea against a city collector order demanding nearly Rs 1.90 crore as the government's share out of its income from telecom towers installed at its premises.
A bench of justice R G Ketkar dismissed the plea upholding the collector's order that demanded the government share out of the Trust's income from mobile towers installed at the land, which had been obtained from the government on lease nearly a century ago.
The plea, challenging the city collector's order passed in May this year, had been filed by the Trust's member Abdul Sattar Merchant.
The trust, established for religious and charitable purposes, had obtained its land in South Mumbai from the collector on lease nearly a century ago. It became in 1920- 21, a lessee of over 4,000 square yards of government land, which included two pieces, the Trust said in its petition.
In 1940 and later in 1951, it acquired 111 sq yards and 60 sq yards of additional land respectively on lease from the government, it said.
These leases placed no restriction on the user from letting out any part of the leased land, the Trust added in its plea.
In 2009, the trust gave a small portion of the land on leave and licence to four cellular companies. The income generated is used by the trust for the benefit of the community at large, it said.
The city collector, on May 4, addressed a letter to the Trust asking it to deposit Rs 1.88 crore within 20 days as the government's share of its income from the land leased from it.
The demand was based on an April 2005 notification that sought 50 per cent share of the income from leasehold land of societies.
The trust had contented that the 2005 notification applied only to the housing societies and other private societies and not to the religious or charitable institutions which were not profit-making entities.
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