HC upholds BWSSB’s Rs 12 crore pro-rata demand against residential school

Bengaluru: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has received a major legal boost after the Karnataka High Court upheld its demand directing Jain International Residential School on Kanakapura Road to pay ₹12 crore towards pro-rata water charges.

The order was passed by a Bench headed by Justice Suraj Govindaraj while dismissing a petition filed by Jain International Residential School seeking quashing of two demand notices issued by BWSSB. The school had challenged the legality of the notices and sought exemption from payment of pro-rata charges.

In its ruling, the court observed that under Section 16 of the BWSSB Act, the Board is empowered to levy pro-rata charges. Referring to a 2004 agreement between the parties, the Bench noted that the petitioner institution had financially contributed towards the installation of the water pipeline. However, the court clarified that such contribution does not exempt the institution from paying pro-rata charges levied towards maintenance and other related expenses.

The court further held that there was no illegality in classifying the educational institution under the commercial category for the purpose of levying water charges. It observed that since BESCOM had categorised the institution as a commercial establishment for electricity tariff purposes, the BWSSB’s classification for water supply billing could not be termed arbitrary or erroneous.

Background of the case reveals that the institution, run under Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain Educational and Cultural Trust, operates multiple educational establishments in Kanakapura taluk, including Jain Public School, Jain PU College, Jain University campus and Jain International Residential School, with around 3,000 students enrolled.

Due to non-potable borewell water in the region, the school had sought supply of 9 lakh litres of water per day at concessional rates. BWSSB had agreed to supply the water, and the institution paid ₹93 lakh for pipeline installation. However, following a revision of water tariffs, disputes arose.

In 2016, BWSSB issued demand notices seeking ₹4.32 crore as pro-rata charges and an additional ₹8.64 crore as enhanced pro-rata charges, totalling ₹12 crore. The institution had also sought a refund of ₹1.01 crore allegedly paid in excess before November 2014.

The High Court, however, rejected the institution’s contentions and upheld the Board’s action.