Judgment

KRISHNA IYER, J.:- The claim of the appellant, "the State of Madhya Pradesh, to levy enhanced license fee on the spill-over stock of intoxicating liquor held as on April 1, 1964 by the respondent who runs a bar, was successfully challenged in the High Court. So the State has come up in appeal, by certificate, under Art, 133 and disputes the correctness of the view accepted by the High Court.

2. As is obvious, the facts are brief and beyond dispute, the issue of law straight and simple and our decision, on a careful study of the alternative constructions of the relevant provision, is that the State is entitled to collect the fee on the revised scale. The respondent runs a cafe at Indore and a foreign liquor bar boosts expensive sales and attracts affluent addicts. Naturally, as a profitable proposition the respondent obtained a licence for the sale of foreign liquor (in Form F.L.3) issued under the Foreign Liquor Rules framed under the Excise Act, 1915 *. The licence which he held was for one year from April 1, 1963 to March 31, 1964. At that time, under the extant rules the fee payable was 37 paise per quart bottle of malt liquor and different rates for other kinds of foreig