The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s plea challenging a high court order that quashed a demand notice seeking Rs 51.18 lakh from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for advertisement tax during the 1996 Cricket World Cup at Eden Gardens.

The KMC had claimed the amount for advertisements displayed during the inaugural ceremony on February 11, 1996, and the semifinal match on March 13, 1996.

The dispute, nearly three decades old, reached the apex court after the Calcutta high court division bench upheld a single judge’s 2015 order in favour of CAB.

The HC had pointed out that CAB holds a lease on Eden Gardens, which is owned by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

The court observed that while advertisements were displayed inside and outside the stadium, Eden Gardens cannot be considered a public place for the purpose of advertisement tax.

The division bench noted: “In our opinion, as soon as conditions are imposed on members of the public for having access to a place, that place ceases to be a public place. A public place must be accessible to an indeterminate number of people without any hindrance or condition.”

The court added that the public does not have unrestricted access to Eden Gardens, and merely accommodating large crowds does not make it a public place.

KMC’s argument that advertisements inside and outside the stadium were visible from public areas failed to sway the bench, which refused to interfere with the single judge’s order.