Sukhdev Singh Kang, J.

1. At issue in this bunch of writ petitions (i.e., C.W.P. Nos. 1877,1878,1879,836, 1148 1149, 1920, 2129, 2130, 2131, 2132, 2345, 2693, 2929, 3169, 3170, 8405, 8406, 9356, 10386, 10497, 11381 and 11387 of 1986 and 3572 of 1987), filed by various transporters, is the constitutional validity of Section 37 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), as amended from time to time. In the alternative, the petitioners contend that the provisions of various sub-sections of Section 37, except the first proviso to Subsection (4), are not applicable to the petitioners.

2. The issues raised are pristinely legal and only a broad-brush factual backdrop will suffice to illumine the contours of the controversy.

3. The petitioners are engaged in the business of carrying goods in their trucks. These vehicles generally move on the national highways for transport of goods from Delhi to Bombay, Punjab or other States and have to pass through the State of Haryana. Similarly, these vehicles bring goods from various States to Delhi. The main thrust of the attack is that while the vehicles carry goods on the inter-State routes, they mere