“5. I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners and also the respondent/DSOI. There cannot be any dispute that respondent No.4/DSOI is a proprietary Institute of a society registered as Defence Services Officers Welfare Fund (DSOWF). In this regard, reference is made to Certificate of Registration under the Societies Registration Act which was issued on 2nd January, 1963. The petitioners do not dispute this aspect. However, as noted above, their submission is that this respondent/DSOI has claimed itself to be a „State‟ before the Sales Tax authority and was claiming some exemptions. In this regard, reference was made to a letter dated 24th March, 1975 purported to have been written by some Hony. Secretary of DSOWF to the Secretary of respondent/DSOI. Reference is also made to copy of the minutes of the meeting of DSOI dated 6th January, 2008. The learned counsel has also referred to the resolution of DSOWF dated 19th May, 1986. I have perused these documents and do not see anything to be mentioned therein that DSOI was either funded, or controlled or managed by the Ministry of Defence or any other department of Government of India or any other Government. In the letter dated 24th March, 1975 purported to be written by Honorary Secretary of DSOWF to DSOI it was stated that DSOI is a subordinate office of Ministry of Defence. In the meeting of 6th January the Institute had resolved to take up the case with Ministry of Defence for exemption from payment of property tax. In the minutes of 19th May, 1986, suggestion of the Auditors was put up before the Committee and it was decided that DSOI is neither registered as a society nor it is filing income tax returns as it is branch of DSOWF. These nowhere in any form describe the DSOI to be an instrumental agency of the Government. The mention of the civil case by learned counsel also does not support his contention firstly because the same has not yet been filed in the present proceedings and so it is not known as to what was stated by DSOWF and in what context. In any case, mere fact that either DSOI or DSOWF at any point of time either claimed any benefit of sales tax or it claimed to be a department of Ministry of Defence, will not make this respondent to be an
