Modi, J.—These are two writ applications under Art. 226 of the Constitution and raise identical questions relating to the validity of certain taxes in the Pokaran Municiality, Tehsil Phalodi. We, therefore, propose to decide both by this judgment.

2. The petitioners are the residents of Pokaran and are traders and taxpayers in that town. There is a municipality a Pokaran which is said to have been in existence since 1935. It may be pointed out at once that there was no statutory law as such governing this or other municipalities in the district towns of what was the farmer state of Jodhpur within whose jurisdiction this municipality existed. The present board was constituted on the 21st December, 1951, for a period of three years and therefore, the period of office of its members is said to have terminated on the 20th December, 1954. The petitioners objection relates to certain taxes one of which was the mapa tax (a tax on sale of goods) and it appears that this was realized from the petitioners in the past and was stopped when the octroi was sought to be introduced in 1954. The second is the octroi tax which is said to have been lived in this municipality by notification No. 769 da

Click Here to Read the rest of this document