In Brief
M/s Lisie Medical Institutions challenged the denial of building tax exemption under the Kerala Building Tax Act, 1975. The Supreme Court clarified that Section 3(1)(b) exempts buildings used principally for charitable purposes. The Explanation states that 'charitable purpose' includes relief of the poor and free medical relief. A prior judgment had wrongly interpreted this as exhaustive, confusing the word 'includes' with 'means'. The Court overruled that decision, holding 'charitable purpose' has a broader scope and is not confined to only relief and free medical relief. The case was remitted to the Kerala High Court for reconsideration based on this corrected interpretation."
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