The Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955 repealed only those provisions of the Hyderabad Abkari Act that dealt with the levy and collection of excise duties on medicinal and toilet preparations, but the rest of the Act remained intact.

( 1 ) THE validity of Rule 36 of the Spirituous and Medicine Preparations Rules 1345 F. framed under the Hyderabad Abkari Act No. 1 of 1316 F. is impugned in these petitions.

( 2 ) THE petitioners manufactured medicines containing, inter alia, alcohol, opium and other narcotic drugs. Tney have been carrying on this business for some years. In ihe year 1955, the Parliament passed the Medicinal and Toilet Preparation (Excise Duties) Act (Act XVI of 1955) (hereinafter refered to as the Act) to provide for the levy and collection of duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol, opium, Indian hemp and ether narcotic drugs. This Act came into force in the State of Andhra Pradesh an 1/04/1957. Before this date, the petitioners ware given a pharmaceutical laboratory licence under the provisions of the Hyderabad Abkari Act. Subsequent to the Act, the petitioners were granted licence under the provisions thereof for manufacturing marines with contents of alcohol, opium etc. on condition that they should pay duty at the rates specified in the schedule annexed to the Act. For the preparation of these medicines, the State Government supplies alcohol at certain rates. In order to prevent and check the mis-use of the spirits and to facilitate the levy and collection of excise duty, the State Government posted to the bonded manufactory of the petitioner-companies supervisory staff and sought to reimburse them-selves the expenses incurred by them in this behalf.

( 3 ) THE petitioners denied the authority of the State Government to recover the cost of the establishment cnarges. The Government over-ruled this objection and insistsd on the petitioners paying the amount. Herice, the petitioners nave invoked the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution for the issue oi a writ of mandamus to restrain the Government from collecting those charges.

( 4 ) THE contention pressed upon us in support of these petitions is that the Act has repealed the Hyderabad Abkari Act I of 1316 F. and all tile rules framed thereunder ana consequently there was no authority inhering in ihe Government to recover the salaries of the supervisory staff from, the bonded manufactories. This proposition is demurred to by the Government pleader, who argues that the Act has not affected the rules which empower the State Government to collect the establishment charges. It is contended that the State Government has power to post supervisory staff to prevent the diversion of the spirit supplied by them for purposes other than those intended and to recover the cost from the manufactory in that regard.

( 5 ) THE first question that arises for consideration therefore is whether the Hyderabad Abkari Act has been repealed in toto by the Act and along with it the rules made thereunder including Rule 36 which is brought into question. For this purpose, we have to bear in mind the scope and ambit of the Act.

( 6 ) IT is to be noted that trie title of the Act is the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955. The object of the Act is to provide for the levy and collection of duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol, opium, Indian hemp and other narcotic drugs. Thus, the preamble and the short title of the Act clearly indicate that it deals with the levy ana collection of duties of excise. This legislation is ascrjbable to entry 84 of List 1 of the Seventh Scheduled the Constitution. No State Legislature is competent to make any legislation on this topic and any State laws bearing on that subject are not valid. The Act has repealed all laws corresponding to that Act prevailing in any State. Section 21 of the Act reads:"if, immediately before the commencement of this Act, there is in force in any State any raw corresponding to this Act, that law is hereby repealed: "provided that all rules made, notifications issued, licences or permits granted, powers conlerred under any law hereb