S.S.Sandhawalia, J.

1. Can the levy of tax under the Bihar Entertainment Tax Act, 1948, be validly consolidated on the basis of the gross collection capacity for every theatre show payable by the proprietor of the entertainment? Is the voluntary compounding of such a levy permissible on the application of proprietor. Are Sections 3-A and 3-B of the Act aforesaid (recently inserted by the Bihar Finance Act, 1985) providing for a consolidated payment of or option for compounding the tax, violative of Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution. These are the primal questions in this set of four connected civil writ petitions.

2. The representative matrix of facts may be briefly noticed from C. W.J.C. No. 4046 of 1985 Messrs Amraqali Films Limited and Ors. V/s. The State of Bihar. (1) The 1st petitioner company--Messrs Amrapali Films Limited under the Companies Act and carries on the business of film exhibition registered under the name and style of Mona 70 M.M. at east of Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Petitioner No. 2 - Messrs Rupam Cinema, a proprietary concern - carries on the business of film exhibition at Shivgunj, Arrah, in the district of Bhojpur. The seating capacity of petitioner