INDIAN TELEPHONE INDUSTRIES Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As the petitioners in the cases have challenged two amending Acts to the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act of 1957 (Karnataka Act 35 of 1977) ('the Act') on grounds that are common or inter-connected, they can conveniently be disposed of by a common order. We, therefore, propose to dispose of them by a common order.

(2.) On the outskirts of the City of Bangalore there are 4 giant industrial undertakings of the Central Government called (i) Indian Telephone Industries Limited, ( IRI) (ii) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, ('HAL'); (iii) Hindustan Machine Tools Limited, ('HMT') and (iv) Bharat Electronics Limited ('BEL') employing thousands of persons who have their resi- dence in differrent parts of the City. In order to provide assured transportation facilities to their employees from their residential houses to their factories and vice- versa, these undertakings have maintained their own fleet of passenger buses. The undertakings collect a nominal amount from each employee depending on his salary or wages for the said service facility provided by them. Bharat Gold Mines Limited, ('BGML') is another Central Government undertaking that is engaged in operating the world famous Kolar Gold Fields in the district of Kolar.

(3.) ITI is the petitioner in Writ Petitions Nos. 5658 of 1976 and 12794 of 1978, HMT is the petitioner in Writ Petitions Nos. 5659 of 1976 and 12796 of 1978, HAL is the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 8629 of 1976 - BEL is the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 12797 of 1978 and BGML is the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 39853 of 1982. Prior to 1-7-1972 or even before that, ITI, HMT and HAL got their passenger vehicles registered as contract carriages with the Regional Transport Officer, Bangalore ('RTO') who was the registering authority of the area under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1939 (Central Act No. 4 of 1939) ('MV ACT') and had obtained contract carriage permits under Section 51 of the MV Act from the Regional Transport Authority of the area ('RTA') which inter alia imposed a condition to the effect that they should carry their bona fide employees only and not the general public for hire or reward as in the case of other contract carriage vehicles. Prior to 1-7-1972 contpact carriage vehicles were subject to taxes at the rate of Rs. 35/- per seat per quarter under Entry No. 4 of the Schedule, Part-A of the Act and 'omnibuses' falling within the meaning of that term occurring in Section 2(18A) of the MV Act were subject to tax at the rate of Rs. 10/- per seat per quarter under the very same entry of that schedule. From 1-7-1972 the rate of taxes on contract carriage vehicles covered by contract carriage permits was enhanced from Rs. 35/- to Rs. l00/- per seat per quarter by the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Act of 1972 (Karnataka Act No. 6 of 1972) and its validity has been upheld by the Supreme Court.