KRISHI DIESEL FILLING STATION Vs. MUNICIPAL BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN both these writ petitions, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of INdia, the petitioners have prayed for a writ of mandamus restraining the Municipal Board, Moradabad, respondent no. 2 from charging any octroi on petrol, mobil oil and diesel oil, which are sold to them by the INdian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. As common questions of law are involved in both these writ petitions, hence these are being disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) KRISHI Diesel Filling Station, petitioner no. 1 of writ petition no. 12149 of 1989 has got petrol and diesel oil pump situated on the Patiapara Mill Road Crossing, Chandpur, district Bijnor and Bansal Automobiles, petitioner no. 2 of the said writ petition has its petrol and diesel oil pump on Dhansury Road at Chandpur, district Bijnor. Petrol and diesel oil pump of Gupta Filling Station, petitioner of the other writ petition is situate on Noorpur, Chandpur Road at Noorpur, district Bijnor. The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., have got their Depots Within the limits of Municipal Board, Moradabad, wherein they store diesel and petrol imported from outside after payment of octroi duty to the Municipal Board, Moradabad. The petitioners purchase petrol, mobil oil and diesel oil from the said corporations. The said petroleum products are then sold by the petitioners at their respective petrol and diesel oil pumps situate in district Bijnor. The case taken up by the petitioners is that because the entire petroleum products sold to them by the aforesaid corporations are used, sold and consumed within the district of Bijnor hence the said products are not liable to any octroi duty at Moradabad inasmuch as the requirements of section 128 of P. Municipalities Act, 1916 are not satisfied.

(3.) THERE is no dispute in this case that the petroleum products are "brought within" the limits of Nagarpalika Moradabad by the aforesaid corporations from outside. With regard to the second condition, learned counsel for the petitioners has urged before us that the particular petroleum products which are sold to or which are purchased by the petitioners from the aforesaid corporations cannot be said to have been brought within the limits of Nagarpalika, Moradabad for the purposes of consumption, use or sale therein. The Nagarpalika Moradabad on the other hand has taken a case in the counter-affidavit that the said petroleum products are sold by the aforesaid corporations to the petitioners within the limits of Nagarpalika, Moradabad. In our view when the said petroleum products are sold by the aforesaid corporations to the petitioners within the limits of Municipal Board Moradabad, the aforesaid second condition of section 128 (1) (viii) is also satisfied because it cannot be then said that the said petroleum products were not brought within the limits of Nagar Palika, Moradabad for sale therein.