Judgment

KHALID, J:- The above appeals, by special leave, are directed against the common Judgment rendered by, a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court in writ appeal Nos. 662-668 of 1982. In the writ petitions, the prayer is to strike down Section 7 of Karnataka Act No. 13 of 1982, Sections 2 and 3 of Karnataka Act No. 10 of 1984 and for a writ of mandamus to restrain the State of Karnataka from enforceing the said provisions against the petitioners in the writ petitions. This judgment will dispose of the appeals and the writ petitions.

2. The facts, in brief, necessary to understand the genesis of the cases are as follows :

Consequent upon the abolition of octroi by the State of Karnataka, which was the main source of revenue for the local bodies, the said State enacted the Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods into local areas for Consumption. Use or Sale Therein Act, 1979 (for short the 1979 Act) in order to augment the resources of the local bodies. This Act came into force with effect from 1-6-1979 on which date it was

3. A batch of 1590 writ petitions were filed in the Karnataka High Court by a large number of traders challenging the constitutional validity of this Act. Writ petition No. 7039 of 1979 was one of them which was by Messrs Hansa Corporation, Bangalore. These writ petitions, on reference by a learned Single Judge, were heard by a Division Bench, which by a common judgment dated 24-8-1979 reported in ILR (1980) 1 Kant 165, struck down the Act, allowed the writ petitions and issued writs of mandamus against the State Government forbearing it from taking any proceedings under the Act. The State took the matter in appeal to this Court. However, only one appeal was filed, numbered as 3049 of 1979 against writ petition No. 7039 of 1979 filed by Messrs Hansa Corporation, impleading this Corporation alone as respondent. This Court by its judgment dated 25-9-1980 allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment of the Karnataka High Court and upheld the validity of the Act. This decision is reported in (198 1) 1 SCR 823.

4. While Civil Appeal No. 3049 of 1979 was pending before this Court, the Governor of Karnataka promulgated the Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods into a Local Area for Consumption, Use or Sale Therein Ordinance of 1980 (Karnataka Ordinance No. 5 of 1980) on 8-6-1980 providing for levy of entry tax on registered dealers, removing the infirmities in the 1979 Act, that were pointed out by the High Court in its judgment while striking down the Act. This Ordinance was replaced by Act No. 21 of 1980 giving it retrospective effect from 8-6-1980, the date of the Ordinance.

5. After this Court rendered its Judgment in the Hansa Corporation case, the Governor of Karnataka promulgated another Ordinance, Ordinance No. 11 of 1980 on 25-10-1980 repealing the Entry Tax Act, 1080, from its inception with certain other directions regarding adjustment of tax if any paid. This was followed by Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas, Use or Sale Therein (repeal) Act, of 1981, and Karanataka .Act No. 10 of 1981, repealing the 1980 Act. This Act, however, did not repeal Ordinance No. 11 of 1980. In the meantime, Karnataka Ordinance No. 3 of 1981, came into force which was followed by Karnataka Act 12 of 1981 which repealed Ordinance No. 11 of 1980. As a result of the combined operation of ordinance No. 3 of 1981 and Act No. 12 of 1981, the 1979 Act was made to be operative but only from 1-10-1980 and not from 1-6-1979 as originally enacted.

6. After the judgment of this Court in the Hansa Corporation case, (AIR 1981 SC 463), upholding the validity of the 1979 Act, the authorities appointed under the Act, issued notices under the Act to all the dealers including those who had filed writ petitions earlier, calling upon them to register themselves under the Act, to file returns and to pay the amounts of tax due by them under the original Act of 1979. Aggrieved by the said notices, the original writ petitioners again filed writ pe