JUDGMENT

VENKATARAMIAH, J.:— The majority of petitioners in these petitions filed under Art. 32 of the Constitution are certain companies, their shareholders and their employees engaged in the business of editing, printing and publishing newspapers, periodicals, magazines etc. Some of them are trust or other kinds of establishments carrying on the same kind of business. They consume in the course of their activity large quantities of newsprint and it is stated that 60 of the expenditure involved in the production of a newspaper is utilised for buying newsprint, a substantial part of which is imported from abroad. They challenge in these petitions the validity of the imposition of import. duty on newsprint imported from abroad under S. 12 of the Customs Act, 1962 (Act 52 of 1962) read with S. 2 and Heading No. 48.01/21 Subheading No. (2) in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (Act 51 of 1975) and the levy of auxiliary duty under the Finance Act, 1981 on newsprint as modified by notifications issued under S. 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 with effect from March 1, 1981.

2. The first set of writ petitions challenging the above levy was filed in May, 1981. At that time under the Customs Act, 1962 read with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 customs duty of 40 ad valorem was payable on newsprint. Under the Finance Act, 1981 an auxiliary duty of 30 ad valorem was payable in addition to the customs duty. But by notifications issued under S. 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 the customs duty had been reduced to 10 ad valorem and auxiliary duty had been reduced to 5 ad valorem in the case of newsprint used for printing newspapers, books and periodicals.

3. During the pendency of these petitions while the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 was amended levying 40 ad valorem plus Rs. 1,000/- per MT as customs duty on newsprint, the auxiliary duty payable on all goods subject to customs duty was increased to 50 ad valorem. But by reason of notifications issued under S. 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 duty at a flat rate of Rs. 550/- per MT and auxiliary duty of Rs. 275/- per MT are now being levied on newsprint i.e. in all Rs. 825/- per MT is now being levied.

4. The petitioners inter alia contend that the imposition of the import duty has the direct effect of crippling the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution as it has led to the increase in the price of newspapers and the inevitable consequence of reduction of their circulation. It is urged by them that with the growth of population and literacy in. the country every newspaper is expected to register an automatic growth of at least 5 in its circulation every year but this growth is directly impeded by the increase in the price of newspapers. It is further urged that the method adopted by the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 in determining the rate of import duty has exposed the newspaper publishers to Executive interference. The petitioners contend that there was no need to impose customs duty on newsprint which had enjoyed total exemption from its payment till March 1, 1981, as the foreign exchange position was quite comfortable. Under the scheme in force, the State Trading Corporation of India sells newsprint to small newspapers with a circulation of less than 15,000 at a price which does not include any import duty, to medium newspapers with a circulation between 15,000 and 50,000 at a price which includes 5 ad valorem duty (now Rs. 275/- per MT) and to big newspapers having a circulation of. over 50,000 at a price which includes the levy of 15 ad valorem duty (now Rs. 825/- per MT). It is stated that the classification of newspapers into big, medium and small newspapers is irrational as the purchases on high seas are sometimes effected by a publisher owning many newspapers which may belong to different classes. The petitioners state that the enormous increase in the price of newsprint subsequent to March 1, 1981 and the inflationary economic, con