VEERASWAMI, J. : These two petitions for certiorari involve the interpretation of the true scope and ambit of the Madras Entertainments Tax (Amendment) Act, 1966, more specially Ss. 2 and 7 of the Act. For deciding this question, it will suffice to notice the facts in W.P. No. 2408 of 1966.

2. The petitioner in that case is the Managing partner of a Cinema Theatre styled as "The K.M.S. Theatre" at Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district. The other partners of the firm are his two brothers, one of whom is a minor. On 7-11-1965, the Commercial Tax Officer, Erode, made a surprise inspection of the theatre and found the booking clerk actually selling unauthorised tickets with forged seal "C.T.O., Mettupalayam" The officer seized the forged seal of the C.T.O., Mettupalayam, the connected machines, materials and the incriminating records including the bogus ticket with and without numbers. The department claimed that the records so recovered revealed sale of spurious tickets from 1962 till the data of inspection. On 14th March and 1st June 1966, the petitioner was served with two pairs of 159 notices requiring him to file objection to a proposal to bring to tax the escaped payments f