K. SHIVASLIANKAR BHAT, J.

( 1 ) IN all these writ petitions, the petitioners are challenging the validity of the karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Act, 1987 (Karnataka Act No. 8 of 1987) (here in a fter referred to as the "impugned Act"), so far as the said Act relates to the increase of the tax on the State carriage vehicles on inter-State routes under part A of the Schedule. In other words, the petitioners are aggrieved by the sub-items (3-A) (a) and (4-A) (a) of Item No. 4 of the said part. Consequential reliefs are sought. The impugned Act is challenged as violative of Articles 14 and 301 of the constitution of India. All the petitioners are inter-Stale stage carriage operators. The substance of their grievance is that, they have been discriminated in the matter of taxation as against similar operators who operate intra-State.

( 2 ) PRIOR to the impugned Act, the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957 was substantially amended in the year 1986 as per the Karnataka Motor Vehicles taxation (Amendment) Act, 1986; inter alia, this Act substituted the entire schedule to the Act. Item 4 in Part A of the Schedule provided for the levy of tax in respect of the motor ve

Click Here to Read the rest of this document