Wanchoo, C.J.—This is an application by the Maharja Shri Umed Mills Ltd., Pali, under Art. 226 of the Constitution praying for a writ in the nature of prohibition or any other appropriate direction or order against the State of Rajasthan and the Inspector of Factories and Boilers, Jaipur, prohibiting the latter from realizing licence fees from the applicant under the Indian Factories Act.

2. The applicant is running a cloth and yarn mill at Pali. Rules under the Factories Act, 1948 were published by the State of Rajasthan in August. 1952. According to these rules, certain fees are to be charged from all factories according to horse power installed and the number of persons employed in the factory during the year. The charge is on a sliding scale, and the applicant was required to pay Rs. 2,000/- per year for obtaining a license under the Indian Factories Act. The applicant attacks the realization of this license fee on the following grounds:—

(1) that this fee is a tax and the Rajasthan State has no authority to levy such a tax, and

(2) that this fee amounts to a tax professions, trades, callings and employments, and cannot be more than Rs. 250/- per annum in view of Art. 276 (2) of t

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