Judgment

TULZAPURKAR, J..- This appeal by special leave raises the question whether on true construction of Entry No. 15 of the Notification No. ST-II-4949/X-10 (2)-74 dated May 30, 1975 issued under Section 3-A of U. P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, the negotiated sale of a Thermal Power Plant by appellant No. 1 to appellant No. 2 is exigible to sales tax thereunder?

2. The short facts giving rise to the question may be stated: A Thermal Power Plant at Rampur comprising seven boilers, five turbines together with its associate auxiliaries, components and accessories originally belonged to the U. P. State Electricity Board. The Board after selling it in working condition to appellant No. 1 on May 29, 1974 for Rs. 41.31 lakhs called upon the latter to pay sales tax thereon which was paid under protest. Appellant No. 1 used it for generating electricity from May 29, 1974 to Sept. 30, 1975. As the power position improved in the State of U. P. appellant No. 1 discontinued the generation of electricity through this power plant and finding it expedient to realise its investment negotiated a sale thereof in perfect working condition to appellant No. 2. Appellant No. 1 desired to charge sales tax on the said negotiated sale but appellant No. 2 informed appellant No. 1 that it had obtained considered opinion that no sales tax on such a transaction was leviable inasmuch as the sale was not of "old, discarded. unserviceable or obsolete machinery", falling within Entry No. 15 of the concerned Notification dated May 30, 1975. Both the appellants thereupon referred the question for clarification to the Commissioner of Sales Tax U. P., Lucknow under Section 35 of the U. P. Sales Tax Act, 1948. It was contended on their behalf that the word (adjective)" old" occurring in the Entry would take colour from the other words (adjectives) that follow it and the cumulative effect of all the words taken together showed that those words were either synonymous or near synonymous suggesting that the machinery in order to fall within the Entry should become non-functional or non-usable and that since the power plant in question had not become "old" in that sense and was in perfect working condition it would not fall within the Entry and the sale thereof by appellant No. 1 to appellant No. 2 was not exigible to tax. The Commissioner by his order dated February 19, 1977 negatived the contention holding that the four words " old, discarded, unserviceable or obsolete" had been used disjunctively and each adjective had its own meaning and sense and that since the power plant had been used before the sale by appellant No. 1 to appellant No. 2 it was old machinery and the sale thereof was liable to tax under the said Entry.

3. Feeling aggrieved by that order the appellants preferred an appeal to the Allahabad High Court being F. A. F. 0. No. 39 of 1977 and a learned single Judge of the Lucknow Bench on April 18, 1979 dismissed the appeal and confirmed the Commissioners view that since the concerned power plant had been purchased by appellant No. 1 long ago and had been put to use it was "old machinery" within the meaning of the Entry, observing that "the degree of oldness has to be greater than recently manufactured machinery used only for the some time". The Commissioners view as confirmed by the High Court is challenged by the appellants before us in this appeal.

4. Section 3-A of the U. P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 empowers the State Government to specify the rates of taxes and the point at which the tax can be imposed, subject to a maximum of 12 per cent. on the turnover in respect of the goods specified in the First Schedule to the Act and clause (b) empowers the State Govemment to amend the entries in the Schedule. In exercise of the aforesaid power the State Government issued the Notification No. ST-II-4949/X-10 (2)-74 dated May 30, 1975 which provided that with effect from June 1, 1975 the turnover in respect of the goods specified in column II of the Schedule to this Noti