Judgment

KHALID, J.

( 1 ) THE above appeals, by special leave, are directedagainst the common judgment rendered by a division bench of the karnataka High court in Writ Appeal Nos. 662-668 of 1982. In the Writ Petition, the prayer is to strike down S. 7 of Karnataka act 13 of 1982, S. 2 and 3 of Karnataka Act 10 of 1984 and for a writ of mandamus to restrain the State of Karnataka from enforcing the said provisions against the petitioners in the Writ Petition. This judgment will dispose of the appeals and the Writ Petition.

( 2 ) THE facts, in brief, necessary to understand the genesis of the cases are as follows:

( 3 ) 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 1/06/1979 on which date it was gazetted.

( 4 ) A batch of 1590 Writ Petition were filed in the Karnataka high court by a large number of traders challenging the constitutional validity of this Act. Writ P