India, Aug. 22 -- New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected a petition seeking directions to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to adopt a uniform method to assess property tax in areas under its jurisdiction, with a bench of justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain observing that the court could not dictate how a statutory authority should formulate and administer the methodology for determining the rateable value of properties.

To be sure, rateable value is the annual value that a municipal authority assigns to a property for the purpose of calculating property tax. The NDMC's jurisdiction extends to the core areas of Lutyens' Delhi, including Connaught Place, Khan Market, Golf Links, and Pandara Road, among others.

"The d...