By the Court.—The petitioner-Outdoor Advertising Agencies Association, is a registered Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 since 1998. The members of the Association are engaged in the business of setting up advertisements in the form of rooftop hoardings, ground hoardings and pole kiosk within the municipal limits of Lucknow Nagar Nigam.

2. By means of this petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the challenge, in substance, is to the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (Assessment and Collection of Tax on Advertisement) Rules, 2014, (hereinafter referred to as the “Rules, 2014”), to be declared as ultra vires of Articles 14, 19 (1) (a) and (g) of the Constitution of India and also not saved by the provisions of Sub-Articles (2) and (6) of Article 19 of the Constitution of India and also being beyond the rule-making power vested in the State Government under the provisions of the U.P. Municipal Corporations Act, 1959.

3. The petitioners have also challenged the demand notices issued by the Tax Superintendent (Advertisement), Lucknow Nagar Nigam, demanding payment of Advertisement Tax alongwith electricity charges for the period from 1.4.2015 to 31.3.2016 and also arrears of Advertisement Tax in terms of the impugned Rules for the period from 1.1.2015 to 31.3.2015. Copy of the aforesaid impugned Rules 2014 has been filed as Annexure-1 to the petition and the demand notice dated 18.8.2015 against one of the Members of the petitioner-Association has been filed as Annexure-2 to the petition. The above averments have been made in paragraph 3 of the Writ Petition.

4. The Constitution (Seventy Fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 inserted Part IX-A comprising of Articles 243P to 243ZG relating to Municipalities and Municipal Corporations. Article 243 X of the Constitution empowered the Legislature of the State to frame law authorizing Municipalities to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties, tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and subject to such limits as may be specified in law. Pursuant to the insertion of Part IX-A in the Constitution the legislature of the State of Uttar Pradesh amended the Uttar Pradesh Nagar Mahapalika Adhiniyam, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as the “1959 Act”) and named the Mahaplika’s as the Municipal Corporations for certain cities in the State of U.P., Lucknow being one of them.

5. Section 172 of the 1959 Act provided for imposition of different taxes under the aforesaid Act. Sub-section 2(h) of Section 172 provided for tax on advertisements not being advertisements published in newspapers. Section 192 of the 1959 Act provides for taxes on advertisements. Section 193 of the 1959 Act prohibits setting up of an advertisement without written permission of the Municipal Commissioner. Section 199 to Section 206 of the 1959 Act provides the manner in which the taxes could be imposed. As the aforesaid provisions of Section 199 to 206 of the 1959 Act would be relevant for deciding the controversy in this petition, as such, the same are reproduced below :

“199. Framing of preliminary proposals.—(1) When a Corporation desires to impose a tax specified in sub-section (2) of Section 172 it shall by resolution direct the Executive Committee to frame proposals specifying -

(a) the tax, being one of the taxes described in sub-section (2) of Section 172 which it desires to impose;

(b) the persons or class of persons to be made liable, and the description of property or other taxable thing or circumstances in respect of which they are to be made liable, except where and in so far as any class or description is already sufficiently defined under clause (a) or by this Act;

(c) the amount or rate leviable from each such person or class of persons;

(d) any other matter referred to in Section 219 which the State Government requires by rule to be specified.

(2) Upon a resolution being passed under sub-section (1) the Executive Committee shall frame the proposals and also prepare