RAM CHITRA MANDIR Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By means of aforesaid writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the U. P. Entertainments and Betting Tax Act, 1979 (in short referred to as the Act) claiming to be ultra-vires on the ground that it suffers from the vice of excessive delegation and is discriminatory, therefore, hit by Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The petitioners have prayed for issuing a writ of certiorari calling for the records of the case concerned and to quash the impugned notification dated 21-10-1997 issued by respondent No. 1 and further to quash the notices issued to the respective petitioners by the District Magistrate concerned to the extent it demands tax except that has already been accepted in Form 'S' from the respective petitioners. The petitioners have also prayed for issuing writ of Mandamus directing the respondents not to coerce the petitioners to pay enhanced tax except what has already been directed to be paid by each petitioners under their respective order in Form 'S' by the District Magistrate concerned.

(2.) We have heard Shri A. Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioners in Civil Misc. Petition No. 742 of 1997, Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 751 of 1997 and Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 761 of 1997, Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 16 of 1998, Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 19 of 1998; Shri Govind Krishna learned counsel for the petition in Civil Misc. Writ Petitions Nos. 748, 757, 766 and 779 of 1997 Shri Vishnu Gupta learned counsel for the petitioners in Civil Misc. Writ Petitions Nos. 782, 783 and 784 of 1997, Shri P. R. Ganguly learned counsel for the petitioner in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 749 of 1997 and Shri Shashi Nandan learned counsel for the petitioners in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 77 of 1997, Shri Rakesh Ranjan Agrawal, learned counsel for the petitioners in Civil Writ Petition No. 747 of 1997, Shri Rajesh Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 790 of 1997 and Shri C. S. Singh and Sri R. K. Pandey, learned Standing Counsels for the respondents.

(3.) These writ petitions involve common question of law having same controversy with slight variation in facts and the learned counsel for the both sides are agreed that these cases may be finally decided at the admission stage itself, hence they are being decided finally by a common judgment. The Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 742 of 1997 is being treated as the leading case.