( 1 ) ALL these Writ Petitions raise same questions. They have been heard together and are being disposed of by this common Judgment. The controversy is very short and revolves around the meaning to lease in the context of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. All the petitioners were conferred right by the appropriate authorities to collect the toll in terms of the Stamp Act. After inviting the bids the petitioners for different premises were the highest bidders and the right to collect the toll tax was leased out to them. The terms and conditions almost in all the transactions are same. We are not referring to the facts of each case but as a sample we are taking writ petition No. 6631 of 1999 as this is the only writ petition within the batch in which the vires of S. 2 (16) of the Stamp Act has also been challenged, in other Writ petitions there is no challenge to S. 2 (16) of the Stamp Act. After the agreement was signed the respondents asked the petitioners to deposit the deficit stamp duty as according to the respondent the agreement entered into between the parties was a lease and was subject to stamp duty as lease in terms of the Stamp Act. These letters were issued o