Under Section 259(1) of the Bihar and Orissa Municipal Act, 1922, separate licenses are required for each trade or business specified in the section, and a single license is not sufficient for carrying on multiple trades or businesses.

Dutta, J.

1. This petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India arises out of an order passed by the authorities of the Arrah Municipality, holding that the petitioner is liable to take three separate licences and pay three separate licence fees under Sec.259 (1) of the Bihar and Orissa Municipal Act for carrying on business of crushing oil seeds, crushing wheat and polishing rice at a place situate in Mohalla Chowdhriana of Arrah Town.

2. The case of the petitioners is that he is carrying on the business of crushing oil seeds and wheat only in the same premises with the help of a motor, namely, an electric motor of ten horse power and he is liable to take out only one licence and pay only one licence fee for carrying on such businesses.

3. The allegation of the petitioner that he is carrying on businesses of crushing oil seeds and wheat only was controverted in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Municipality, in Para. 4 of which it was alleged that the petitioner has been running three businesses and not two as claimed by him. In his rejoinder to this counter affidavit on behalf of the Municipality, the petitioner again alleged that he is running only two businesses, namely, crushing of all seeds and wheat and not the business of polishing rice. Neither of the parties made any submission before us at the time of hearing of the present writ petition in connection with the dispute as to whether only two businesses were being carried on as alleged by the petitioner or three businesses as alleged by the Municipality. It is evident that this disputed question of fact cannot be entered into in the present writ petition and, as such, it is not necessary to consider this matter.

4. The only point that was urged at the time of hearing and arises for determination is whether only one licence has to be taken for carrying on in the same premises more than one of the trades or businesses specified in Sec.259 (1) of the Municipal Act or whether separate licences with the corresponding liability to pay separate fees have to be taken for carrying on each of such trades or businesses. The contention on behalf of the petitioner was that in view of the provisions of Sec.258 (1) only one licence has to be taken for carrying on at one place any number of trades or businesses out of those specified in this sub-section and it is not necessary to take separate licences for the different trades or businesses specified therein. The relevant part of Sec.259 (1) runs as follows:-

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"Within such local limits as may be fixed by the Commissioners at a meeting, no place shall be used without a licence granted by the Commissioners after such local inquiry as they may deem necessary, which shall be renewable annually, for any of the following trades or businesses, namely."

This is followed by specification of a number of trades and businesses under Clauses (i) to (xiii) and the next item which falls under Clause (xiv) is as follows:-

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"Any manufacture, process or business from which offensive or unwholesome smells may arise or which has been declared by the State Government by notification to be dangerous or offensive."

It is admitted that a notification has been issued by the State Government on the 15th June 1955, in execution of the powers conferred under the aforesaid Clause (xiv), whereby a number of manufactures processes and businesses have been declared to be dangerous and offensive and the list of such manufactures, etc., as given in this notification includes rice mills, flour mills and oil mills. There is thus no dispute about the liability of the petitioner to take licence for carrying on the aforesaid businesses. The contention of the petitioner, however, is that under the law as laid down in Sec.259 (1), a person has to take out only one licence irrespective of the number and nature of such trades or businesses which are carried on by him at any particular place. This contention is based on the submission th