Bombay high court directs PMC to penalise Reliance Communications

The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to recover penalty from Reliance Communications while accepting property tax from the company, after a cheque for Rs1.03 crore issued by the company to the PMC for property tax bounced.

The high court bench comprising Justices Ranjana Desai and RG Ketkar expressed strong displeasure about dishonouring of the cheque, said advocate Abhijeet Kulkarni, who represented the PMC in the court.

The PMC’s property tax department had sealed offices of Reliance Communications and Aircel for not paying property tax for their 174 mobile towers.

Reliance Communications had not paid Rs4.08 crore in tax for its 140 mobile towers in the city. The department sealed the office of the company in Kalyaninagar, following which the company made a part payment of Rs1.03 crore by cheque. But the PMC insisted on making a full payment of dues.