The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

MOOTHAM, C.J. - In this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioner challenges the validity of an assessment order dated 21st September, 1957, made under the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, (hereinafter called the Principal Act) and of a notice of demand which is undated but which it is common ground was issued on 22nd September, 1957.

The petitioner is a firm which carries on business in Agra in cloth, supplies of which it obtains from places both within and outside the Uttar Pradesh. It is registered dealer under section 8A of the Act. The tax purports to be levied under a notification No. ST/905-X, dated 31st March, 1956, and it is the validity of that notification which is the principal question which arises in this case. This notification was held to be invalid by this Court in Adarsh Bhandar v. The Sales Tax Officer ([1957] 8 S.T.C. 666), but it is the case of the respondents that subsequent to the judgment in that case the notification has been validated by the U.P. Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1957 (U.P. Act XXIV of 1957).

It is necessary to refer shortly to certain statutory provisions. Prior to the coming into force of the U.P. Sales Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 1957 (U.P. Ordinance No. IX of 1956) (hereinafter referred to as the Ordinance) sub-section (1) of section 3A of the Principal Act empowered the State Government by a notification in the official Gazette to declare that the turnover in respect of any goods shall not be liable to sales tax, save at such single point as the State Government may specify. Sub-section (2) of this section then provided that

"(2) If the State Government makes a declaration under sub-section (1) of this section it may further declare that the turnover of the dealer, who is liable to pay tax on the sale of such goods shall, in respect of such sale, be taxed at such rate as may be specified not exceeding one anna per rupee if the sale relates to goods specified below '- Five classes of goods were then specified -' and nine pies per rupee if it relates to any other goods."

On 31st March, 1956, the Ordinance was published in the Gazette. Section 4 of the Ordinance provided that, in lieu of sub-section (2) of section 3A of the Principal Act, two new sub-sections be substituted. The new sub-section (2) read thus :

"(2) If the State Government makes a declaration under sub-section (1), it may further declare that the turnover in respect of such goods shall be liable to tax at such rate not exceeding one anna per rupee as may be specified."

The effect of this provision was therefore to abolish the limited list of goods in respect of which sales tax would be levied at the rate of one anna per rupee and to enable tax at that rate to be levied on all such goods as should be specified in a declaration made under sub-section (1).

On the same date on which the Ordinance was published, namely 31st March, 1956, the Governor issued the impugned Notification No. ST/905-X, which so far as is relevant reads as follows :

"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3A of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, as amended from time to time, and in suppression of all previous notifications on the subject, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh is hereby pleased to declare that the turnover in respect of the goods specified in the list below shall not with effect from 1st April, 1956, be liable to tax except (a) in the case of goods imported from outside Uttar Pradesh, at the point of sale by the importer; and

(b) in the case of goods manufactured in Uttar Pradesh at the point of sale by the manufacturer; and the Governor is further pleased to declare that such turnover shall with effect from the said date be taxed at the rate of one anna per rupee". Then follows a list of forty-seven classes of goods, including as item No. 5 "cloth of all kinds". This Court in Adarsh Bhandar's case ([1957] 8 S.T.C. 666) held that the impugned notification was invalid on the groun