In Brief
Lisie Medical Institutions, a Christian charitable trust running a hospital in Kerala, challenged its liability to pay building tax. The trust argued it qualified for exemption under the Kerala Building Tax Act as a charitable institution. Lower courts dismissed its claims, following the Supreme Court's prior judgment in S.H. Medical Centre Hospital, which held that charitable purpose meant only free medical relief. The Supreme Court found this prior judgment had misinterpreted the Act's use of "includes" (suggesting broader definition) as "means" (exhaustive definition). The Court held that charitable purpose encompasses multiple facets beyond free services, and remitted the matter to a larger bench for authoritative reconsideration.
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