Judgment

SHAH, J. : Bhopal Sugar Industries Ltd. (the first petitioner) is a public limited Company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913, and the second petitioner is a shareholder and a Director of the Company. The Company is a manufacturer of sugar and owns a fleet of motor trucks and other motor vehicles. The Company also carries on the business of selling motor spirit, high speed diesel oil, and lubricants and maintains a petroleum pump at Sehore in the State of Madhya Pradesh. Between April 1, 1959 and March 31, 1960 the Company used, for its motor vehicles 8908 gallons of petroleum, 40719 gallons of high speed diesel oil and lubricants of the value of Rs. 2,453.47 nP. The first respondent who is the assessing authority under the Madhya Pradesh Sales of Motor Spirit and Lubricants Taxation Act, 4 of 1958, assessed the Company to pay sales tax in respect of motor-spirit and lubricants used by the Company out of the stock held by it for its own vehicles, because in his view such consumption amounted to sales within the meaning of the Act.

2. By this petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution it is claimed that the definition of retail sale in S. 2(1) of the Act whic