JUDGMENT

KRISHNA IYER, J.:—A crudely drafted plaint, with little legal light to make out a good cause of action, somehow resulted in a decree as prayed for at the trial stage and in appeal. But the defendant who is the appellant before us, the Mahapalika of the City of Agra, pursued the matter in Second Appeal where, regardless of the scope of the suit or the precise ground alleged in the plaint, an adverse judgment was rendered affecting the Municipality in a general way. Naturally, the appellant Mahapalika has come to this Court by special leave under Art. 136 of the Constitution 1161 over stepping the limits of law a little, as will presently appear.

2. The brief facts necessary to appreciate the contentions on which the High Court has pronounced may now be stated, although, in so doing, we have to depart from the pleadings. Indeed, the questions are of general public importance and so, apart from technical bounds, we proceed to declare the law.

3. The Agra Municipal Board was governed by the U. P. Municipalities Act, 1916 (Act II of 1916). In 1947, the State Government issued a notification imposing a tax under Section 128 (1) (ii) of the said Act. The levy was on brick manufactu