The rate of sales tax expressed as one anna per rupee should be construed as being expressed in terms of naye Paise, and the substitution of one anna in the notification should be by the fraction 6.25 naye Paise, and not by six whole naye Paise.

( 1 ) THIS is a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.

( 2 ) THE main point raised in this petition is a challenge to the validity of the U. P. Sales Tax (Validation) Act (XV of 1958) which validated the notification ST 905/x dated 31st March, 1956, issued under the authority of Section 3-A of the U. P. Sales Tax Act, by reason of which the petitioner was assessed to sales tax by the order impugned in this writ petition. The validity of the Act has been put beyond doubt by the decision of the Supreme Court in J. K. Jute Mills Co. Ltd. v. State of U. P. and Anr. [1961] 12 S. T. C. 429. In view of this decision the learned counsel is not in a position to press the main point.

( 3 ) A subsidiary point taken by him is that as mentioned in grounds Nos. (vii), (xi) and (xii) of the grounds of the petition. This point has been urged by him somewhat as follows :-By reason of sub-section (3) of Section 14 of the Indian Coinage Act, 1906, as amended by the Indian coinage (Amendment) Act, 1955, the rate of sales tax, which is expressed as one anna per rupee in the notification, should be construed as being expressed in terms of nay a Paisa. According to the learned counsels interpretation of Sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 14 of the Act, the substitution, in place of one anna in the notification, should be by six whole naye Paise and not by the fraction 6. 25 naye Paise. According to the learned counsel, if substitution is so made, the result would be that the tax liability of the petitioner calculated at the rate of six naye Paise per rupee would be less by about Rs. 800.

( 4 ) I regret I cannot agree with the interpretation put by the learned counsel on Sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 14.

( 5 ) THE sections of the Indian Coinage Act which are relevant are Sections 6, 13 and 14. Section 6 makes provision for the coining of coins at the mint. It provides for their denominations, designs, and their composition. Section 13 declares the coins issued under the authority of Section 6 to be legal tender. Section 13 makes both the new coins issued under the decimal system of coinage as well as the silver coins of the denomination of rupee coins, half-rupee coins and quarter-rupee coins issued after the 10th March, 1940, and nickel, copper and bronze coins issued before the 24th January, 1942, to be legal tender. Thus, even after the issue of new coins necessitated by the introduction of the decimal system of coinage, old coins still continue to be legal tender. Under the first sub-section of Section 13, provision is made for new coins to be legal tender and under the last two sub-sections for old coins. The extent to which coins of various denominations shall be legal tender is also provided by Section 13.

( 6 ) THE argument, however, turns upon the provisions of Section 14. Reference to Section 13 and section 6 has been made by me only because in Section 14 reference is made to Section 13, and in Section 13 reference is made to Section 6.

( 7 ) SECTION 14, which is divided into three sub-sections, runs as follows :

14. Decimal system of coinage.- (1) The rupee shall be divided into one hundred units and the new coin representing such unit may be designated by the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, under such name as it thinks fit, and the rupee, half-rupee and quarter-rupee shall be respectively equivalent to one hundred, fifty and twenty-five such new coins and shall, subject to the provisions of Sub-section (1) and Sub-section (2) of Section 13 and to the extent specified therein, be a legal tender in payment or on account accordingly. (2) All coins issued under the authority of this Act in any denominations of annas, pice and pies shall, to the extent specified in Section 13, be a legal tender in payment or on account at the rate of sixteen annas, sixty-four pice or one hundred and ninety-two pies, to one hundred new coins referred to in Sub-section (1), calculated in respect