RAM RAKSH PAL AGARWAL Vs. TOWN AREA COMMITTEE, NAWABGANJ, DISTRICT BAREILLY, THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two writ petitions raise common questions and can conveniently he disposed of together. The petitioners in these ,two writ petitions are owners of motor car taxis which they ply inter alia between Bareilly and Pilibhit, On the way the taxis.had. to pass through a by pass route which falls within the Town Area Committee, Nawabganj. The Town Area constructed a toll tax barrier near the Nawabganj by pass route and started realising a sum of Rs. 2.00 per taxi per trip as toll tax. The petitioners approached the District Magistrate and the Chairman Town Area Committee and pointed out to them that no toll tax was payable but they got no redress. They have, therefore, instituted these writ petitions with a prayer for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing respondent No. 1 not to realise any toll tax in respect of the petitioners taxis passing through the aforesaid by pass route.

(2.) A copy of the Toll Tax Rules framed by the Town Area Committee Nawabganj, has been filed along with the writ petitions. Schedule 'A' to these rules contains the various entries which are liable to pay toll tax, Schedule Rs.3' contains a list of exemptions from toll tax. According to the Town Area Committee the case of the petitioners falls within entry No. 16 of Schedule 'A' of the Rules, namely, "16. Laden Motor Lorry or Motor' Truck."

(3.) The petitioners case is that their taxis carried only passengers who travelled with their personal luggage and no other goods and consequently their taxis cannot be termed "Laden". The question whether vehicles laden with passengers came with in the purview of the entry as "Laden Motor Lorry or motor truck" came up for consideration before a Division Bench of this Court in Notified Area Committee Garh Mukteshwar through its Secretary, Sri Khazan Singh Vs. Addl. Commissioner, Meerut Division, Meerut and other, 1973 A.L.J. 206 . In that case a similar toll tax was levied by the Notified Area Garh Mukteshwar and Schedule 'A' of the rules of the said Notified Area contained the entries liable to pay toll tax. Entry No. 16 was similar to the entry in the instant case, namely, "Laden motor lorry or motor truck". The Hindi translation of entry No. 16 in the case referred to above was "Bojh se ladi Gari athwa motor truck". A copy of the relevant notification containing the rules of Town Area, Nawabganj as published in the Hindi edition of part III Gazette dated 17-5-1969 has been produced before us and entry No. 16 says- "Bojh se ladi motor lorry ya motor truck." In the case of Notified Area, Garh Mukteshwar 1973 A.L.J. 206, on the finding that 'Bojh' refers to goods or articles and not human beings, it was held that the vehicles laden with passengers were not within the purview of the entry and no toll was payable in respect of them. In view of the aforesaid decision we are of opinion that the taxis of the petitioners cannot be held liable to toll tax merely on the ground that they are laden with passengers.