In Brief
The Supreme Court held that residential buildings for nuns undergoing religious training and hostel buildings attached to educational institutions qualify for exemption from building tax under the Kerala Building Tax Act, 1975. The Court clarified that exemption provisions with beneficial purposes (promoting religious, charitable, or educational activities) must be liberally construed, not strictly. A building qualifies for exemption if its use is integrally connected with religious or educational activity, not merely incidentally or for profit. The Court deferred to the High Court's long-standing interpretation of the local statute, emphasizing that purposes directly supporting core religious or educational functions deserve exemption.
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