JUDGMENT

H.N. Sethi J. - This petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution, has been filed by 17 operators who have been granted public carrier permits, for plying their vehicles throughout the Sate of U. P. by the Regional Transport Authority of Agra, Meerut, Kanpur and Allahabad. For plying their vehicles in the State of U. P., the petitioners have paid all the taxes due from them under the Motor Vehicles Act, Motor Vehicles Taxation Act and U. P. Motor Gadi Malkar Adhiniyam, 1964. In the course of their trade, the petitioners ply their vehicles on inter-statal routes as well, and for that purpose they obtain temporary permits from the transport Authorities concerned after paying taxes prescribed by the other States in whose territories their vehicles are proposed to be used. At the time of issuing temporary permits, which enable the petitioners to ply their public Carriers on inter-statal routes, the Regional Transport Authorities concerned insist that they should further pay additional tax at the rate of Rs. 3/- per day per vehicle, as laid down in the second proviso to Art. VIII of Schedule I to the Motor Vehicles Taxation Act (U. P. Act V of 1935). Such a demand is, according to the petitioners, wholly unjustified. They, accordingly. filed the present petition before this Court inter alia for a direction that the respondents be directed not to realise the aforesaid additional tax under U. P. Act V of 1935 from the petitioners.

2. When the writ petition came up for hearing before a Division Bench of this Court, the respondents relied upon a decision of this Court in the case of Niyamat Ullah v. The Regional Transport Officer, Allahabad, Sp. A. No. 795 of 1970, decided on 16th of March, 1973, in support of their contention that the Additional Tax at the rate of Rs. 3/- per day per vehicle was payable by the petitioners in respect of temporary contract carriage permits obtained by them for plying their vehicles on the inter-stated route, as provided in Art. VIII of the 1st Schedule of the U. P., Motor Vehicles Taxation Act. The Division Bench which heard the writ petition felt that aforesaid decision of this Court required further consideration and referred the following question to a larger Bench.

"Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the petitioners were liable to pay an additional tax under Art. VIII of the I Schedule of the U. P. Motor Vehicles Taxation Act in respect of temporary permits obtained by them for transporting goods from this State to another State ?"

This is how the matter has come up he has come up before us.

3. The U. P. Motor Vehicles Taxation Act of 1935 (U. P. Act No. V of 1935) has been enacted with the object of providing for the imposition of tax on motor vehicle in the United Provinces-now known as state of Uttar Pradesh. Sub-sec. (i) of Section 4 of the Act provides that save as otherwise provided in the Act, or by the Rules framed thereunder, or by any other law for the time being in force, no motor vehicle is to be used in any public place in U. P., unless the owner thereof has paid in respect of it tax at the appropriate rate specified in the I Schedule to the Act, within the time allowed by Section 5 and save as specified the subsequent provisions of the Act such tax is payable annually notwithstanding that the Motor Vehicles may from time to time cease to be used. Sub-sec. (2) of Section 4 then provides that for determining the amount of tax payable in respect of transport Vehicles under Arts. IV to VII or IX of the I Schedule of the Act, all routes in Uttar Pradesh are to be classified by the Prescribed Authority as special route or ordinary route and every ordinary route has to be further classified as an A class route or B class route or C class route. Part A to the I Schedule provides for the rate of tax payable by various vehicles other than transport vehicles and Part B which consists of Arts. IV to IX provides for annual tax payable by Transport Vehicles, Arts. VI an