( 1 ) THE question that arises in these petitions is whether it is impermissible for the Petitioners to charge their customers/guests the any price above the maximum retail price (MRP) mentioned on mineral-water packaged and bottled by third parties. This conundrum is common both to hotels and restaurants. The character and nature of the service provided by hotels has already received jural scrutiny in State of H. P.-vs- Associated Hotels of india, AIR 1972 SC 1131 [also reported as The State of Punjab -vs- Associated hotels of India Ltd, (1972) 1 SCC 472 : (1972) 2 SCR 937]. The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court made the following enunciation of the law which in my view conclude the debate and is better extracted than paraphrased by us:-

13. What precisely then is the nature of the transaction and the intention of the parties when a hotelier receives a guest in his hotel? Is there in that transaction an intention to sell him food contained in the meals served to him during his stay in the hotel? It stands to reason that during such stay a well equipped hotel would have to furnish a number of amenities to render the customer's stay comfortable. In the supply of such amenities

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