In Vinay Kumar & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar & Ors. (2026), Patna High Court's Division Bench of Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Partha Sarthy passed a 2-page long order dated September 28, 2026, wherein, it has sought replies from the state government and Patna Municipal Corporation on a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of specific provisions of the Bihar Municipal Property (Assessment, Collection and Recovery) Rules, 2013. The Rules were framed in exercise of the power conferred by section 127 (3) and Section 419 (1) of the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007.
The petitioner has contended that the provisions impose arbitrary and unjust property tax on residential and commercial buildings in urban centres of Bihar. He has submitted that the rules for assessment and collection of municipal property tax did not provide a transparent and fair mechanism for property tax assessment. The judges also sought a reply from Patna Municipal Corporation on the alleged arbitrary mode of property tax collection in the capital.
The four other respondents are: 2. The Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Bihar, 3. The Deputy Secretary to the Government, Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Bihar, 4. The Patna Municipal Corporation through its Municipal Commissioner, Patna and 5. The Municipal Commissioner, Patna Municipal Corporation, Patna.
S.D. Sanjay, Advocate General was allowed four weeks time to file counter affidavit, on behalf of the State of Bihar, the Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Bihar and the Deputy Secretary to the Government, Urban Development and Housing Department, the respondent nos. 1, 2 and 3. The Patna Municipal Corporation through its Municipal Commissioner, Patna and the Municipal Commissioner, Patna Municipal Corporation, Patna, the respondent nos. 4 and 5 have also been asked to to file the counter affidavit within the same time period. The Cort has directed the petitioner to file his rejoinder within a period of two weeks after filing of the counter affidavit by all the respondents. The matter is directed to re-notified on December 7, 2026 for hearing on admission.
Responding to the case against the constitutional validity of the Bihar Property Tax (Assessment, Collection and Recovery) Rules, 2013, Advocate Dr. Gopal Krishna, a member of the Tax Justice Forum said, "now that Bihar Municipal (Amendment) Act, 2026 has been enacted, the pre-existing Bihar Municipal Property (Assessment, Collection and Recovery) Rules, 2013 under Bihar Municipal Act, 2007 will have to be factored in." Dr. Krishna pointed out that with the enactment of Bihar Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, minor offences have been decriminalised. The amendment under the provisions of Section 429 of he Bihar Municipal Act, 2007 has removed criminal sanctions and eliminated provisions for daily penalties. It signals a shift towards non-criminal, compliance-based governance. Earlier, Bihar Municipal (Amendment) Act, 2016 was enacted to amend Section 13 of the Act. After amendment in the proviso to the Section 13, it reads: "Provided that notwithstanding any thing contained in any other provision of this Act, until the relevant figures for the census of the year 2021 are published, it shall not be necessary for the State Government to re-determine the number of wards on the basis of population of the municipal area ascertained at 2011 Census."
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