The petitioner is rate-payer residing within the jurisdiction of the Pudukottai Municipality. As is customary for the Municipality, an auction was held to farm out the right to collect and levy the fees on the persons willing to carry on their trade in the weekly shandy held within the precincts of the Municipality on every Friday. One such auction was held on 28th February, 1972. The petitioner bid for Rs. 5,250 and the second respondent for Rs. 5/251. The second respondent’s bid was the highest. It is common ground that both the petitioner and the second respondent complied with the pre-requisite as laid down in the conditions and terms of the auction in that each of them paid a deposit amount of Rs. 10,000 as earnest money to participate in the said auction. According to condition No. 9 the highest bidder should pay within three months from the date of auction an advance representing the weekly shandy fees which invariably is the amount for which he has bid at the auction. Under condition 11 (a), soon after the highest bid is accepted by the appropriate authority, the highest bidder should pay an advance representing the shandy fees for a week. Under conditions 13 and 1