Judgment

RAGHUBAR DAYAL, J. (for himself and Gajendragadkar C.J.I, Hidayatullah and K. C. Das Gupta, JJ.) :

The appellant, Amrit Banaspati Co. Ltd., hereinafter called the company, a joint stock company, and S. P. Bhasin, a shareholder of the company, filid writ petition No. 1003 of 1961 in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, challenging the validity of the U. P. Sales Tax Validation Act, 1958 (Act XV of 1958), hereinafter called the Validation Act, and praying for the quashing of the assessment order dated October 15, 1960 and the order dated February 1, 1961, of the Sales Tax Judge (Appeals), Meerut, in connection with the assessment of tax on the sale of vanaspati and other articles both on the ground that the sales-tax was assessed at a higher rate than was permissible under a valid law and that the tax had been assessed at the rate of 1 anna and not at 6 naye paise per rupee. The learned Single Judge of the High Court dismissed the writ petition as the Valuation Act validating the relevant provision of the U. P. Sales Tax Act and the notification enhancing the rate of tax had been held valid by this Court in J. K. Jute Mills Co. Ltd, v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 1962-2 SCR 1 and as the contention about the calculation of tax to be at the rate of 6 naye paise per rupee and not at the rate of 1 anna had been repelled in earlier decisions of the Allahabad High Court, one such decision being Ram Kishan Sunder Lal v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (1962) 13 STC 923 (All). A special appeal to a Division Bench of the High Court was dismissed in view of the decision of this Court in the Jute Mills Case; 1962-2 SCR 1. It appears that the second question about the alleged error in calculating the tax at the rate of 1 anna instead of 6 naye paise per rupee was not raised before the Division Bench. Civil Appeal No. 887 of 1963 has been filed by special leave against this order of the High Court.

2. The other appeal No. 888 of 1963 is filed against the order of the Division Bench confirming the order of the Single Judge dismissing the writ petition by the appellant company against the assessment order for the years 1955-56, 1956-57 and 1957-58. The only point urged for the appellant in this writ petition had been that the Valuation Act was invalid. The order of the two Courts below repelled the contention, in view of the decision of this Court, in the Jute Mills Case, 1962-2 SCR 1.

3. We did not allow the appellant to urge the grounds attacking the validity of the Validation Act in view of the decision of this Court in the Jute Mills Case, 1962-2 SCR 1. The only point which is urged before us now is that the tax should have been calculated at the rate of 6 naye paise per rupee and not at the rate of 1 anna per rupee, as laid down in the relevant provisions of the U. P. Sales Tax Act and the notification issued under its provisions. The contention is based on the provisions of the Indian Coinage Act, 1906 (Act III of1906), hereinafter called the Coinage Act, as amended by Act XXXI of 1955. It is urged that in view of the provisions of sub-ss. (2) and (3) of S.14 of the Coinage Act, as amended, reference to 1 anna in the relevant Act and notification issued thereunder should be construed to be reference to 6 naye paise and that the wrong calculation by the Sales Tax Authority has resulted in over-assessment of tax. To appreciate the real contention urged, it is necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of the Coinage Act.

4. Section 13 provides the extent up to which the tender of the various coins would be considered legal tender. Its relevant portions read:

"13. ( 1) The coins issued under the authority of Section 6 shall be a legal tender in payment or on account:-

(a) in the case of a rupee coin, for any sum;

(b) in the case of a half-rupee coin, for any sum not exceeding ten rupees;

(c) in the case of any other coin, for any sum not exceeding one rupee;

Provided that the coin has not been defaced and has not lost weight so as to be less