The provisions of Section 37 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, including the first proviso to Sub-section (4), are applicable to transporters whose vehicles merely pass through the State of Haryana without unloading or loading goods.

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 merely pass through the State of Haryana and do not unload the goods in the territory of that State. They also do not pick up goods therefrom. Even then these vehicles are stopped at the various check-posts set up by the State of Haryana on its borders and on the pretext of checking and search, the goods are unloaded, the consignments are broken open and many times the contents in the packets are damaged. The authorities seize the goods and documents carried by the trucks. Despite the protest by the drivers of the vehicles who carry all the requisite prescribed documents, relating to the vehicles and the goods carried, with them, the authorities seize the goods or tamper with the consignments and just harass the transporters, keep the vehicles detained at check-posts and barriers for 10 to 12 hours and sometimes for days together. The opening of the consignments causes irreparable loss to the petitioners as consignees refuse to take delivery of the consignments, the packings of which have been broken or tampered with. The petitioners are burdened with a liability of paying damages as bailees of goods. The action of the authorities hinders the free and smooth inter-State trade leading to wastage of time and national resources and inconvenience to the consumers. The provisions are stated to violate Articles 14, 19, 301 and 304 of the Constitution of India.

4. The respondents have resisted these writ petitions and have filed written statements controverting the allegations of harassment. It is averred therein that the barriers have been set up with a view to preventing or checking evasion of sales tax. The owner or person in charge of the goods and, when the goods are carried by a goods carrier, the driver or any other person in charge of the goods carrier, is required to carry with him a goods carrier record, a trip sheet or log-book along with a bill of sale in respect of the goods carried by him or in the goods carrier and is required to produce the same before an officer-in-charge of a check-post or barrier or any other officer of the department not below the rank of an Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer. The driver or in-charge of the goods carrier, when required by any officer above mentioned to stop the goods carrier entering or leaving the limits of the State, shall stop the goods carrier and keep it stationary to allow the officer-in-charge of the check-post or barrier, to examine the goods carried by him or in the goods carrier, by breaking open the package or packages, if necessary and to inspect the records relating to the goods carried. The owner or person in charge of the goods or goods carrier, entering or leaving the limits of the State, is required to furnish (in duplicate) a declaration containing such particulars, as may be prescribed,