MADHO RAM Vs. H G SEKHRI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of three writ petitions, being CWs 156-D and 215-D of 1965 and 91-D of 1966. The petitioners in CWs 156-D and 215-D of 1965 are the firm named and styled as Messrs Madho Ram, Lal Chand, Charanjit Singh, Harbans Lal Khosla, Bhagwat swarup and B. R. Chawla, and its six partners, whose names form part of the said firm's name. The respondents in both these petitions are the Sales-tax Officer, Ward No. 2, Delhi, the Commissioner of Sales-tax, Delhi, and the Union of India, through the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi. The petitioners in CW 91-D of 1966 are the firm, run under the name and style of Messrs Kidar Nath, Lal Chand, Madho Ram, Jagdev Singh, Sunder Lal and B. R. Chawla, and its six partners. The five respondents in this petition are the Sales-tax Officer, Ward No. 11, the Sales-tax Officer, now holding charge of Ward No. 14, Commissioner of Sales-tax, Collector of Delhi, and the Union of India. As the questions of law and fact, involved in these petitions are common, arguments were addressed in CW 215-D of 1965 only, which were said to be applicable to the other cases as well. Reference to facts wherever necessary, will be made in this judgment to the facts of CW 215-D of 1965; but the reasoning and conclusions are applicable to all the three petitions, which are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) In CW 156-D of 1965, the period for which the assessment of sales-tax is involved is June 4, 1964 to June II, 1964 and June 12, 1964 to December 31, 1964. In CW 215-D of 1965, the relevant period consists of the months of January and February, 1965. The relevant period in CW 91-D of 1966 is June 4, 1965 to August 25, 1965 and August 26, 1965 to September 21, 1965. The petitioners in the first two petitions carried on their business of purchase and sale of country liquor under a licence auctioned by the Excise Department, Delhi, for the excise year 1964-65 (1-4-1964 to 31-3-1965), while the petitioners in the third petition had the country liquor licence for the excise year 1965-66 (1-4-1965 to 31-3-1966).

(3.) The sale of country liquor was 'exempt from payment of sale-tax levied under the Bengal Finance (Sales-tax) Act, 1941, as extended to the State of Delhi (now the Union Territory of Delhi), herein called 'the Act', in view of the provisions of section 6(1) of the Act read with entry 40 of the Schedule of exempted goods which read as follows: