Judgment

Kapadia, J.—The question which arises for determination in these civil appeals is - whether “life time tax” leviable in lump sum in advance for the life time of a motor vehicle (four wheeler) on the basis of the index of “weight-cum-value” ceases to be compensatory in nature as held by the impugned judgment of the Madras High Court dated 11.11.1999 in Writ Petition Nos. 11815, 15139 & others of 1999.

2. At the outset, it may be stated that the impugned judgment covers twelve writ petitions filed in the Madras High Court, all of them seeking to challenge section 4(1-A)(a) read with Part-I Schedule-III to the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as “the 1974 Act”), as amended.

3. For the sake of convenience, we may mention the facts of the case in writ petition No. 15139 of 1998.

4. M. Krishnappan, respondent herein challenged the provisions of section 4(1-A)(a) imposing life time tax on motor vehicles to be registered on and after 1.7.1998 being the date on which the amending Act 27 of 1998 came into force. By the said amending Act, section 3A as also the aforestated section 4(1-A)(a)(b) came to be inserted in the said 1974 Act by which a dichot