( 1. ) THIS order will also govern Miscellaneous Petitions Nos. 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158 and 160 all of 1958.

( 2. ) IN these sixteen applications under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners challenge the validity of imposition of sales tax under the Madhya Bharat Sales Tax Act, 1950, on "leaves of tobacco, manufactured tobacco used for eating, smoking and for snuff and tobacco chura used for the manufacture of bidis" imported by them from outside the quondam State of Madhya Bharat and sold in that State. They pray that the imposition be declared to be illegal and ultra vires the Constitution and an appropriate writ or direction be issued to the opponents to refund the tax already collected from them during the period from 1st April, 1951, to 30th September, 1957.

( 3. ) ALL the petitioners carry on business in Ujjain (a city located in that part of the new Madhya Pradesh which was formely Madhya Bharat) as importers of tobacco and as such are registered as dealers under the Act. By Notification No. 59/7-S. R.-55 (5) dated the 24th October, 1953, issued by the Government under Section 5 of the Act, sales tax is chargeable on "leaves of tobacco, manufactured tobacco and tobacco used for smoking, eating and for snuff" sold by an importer at the rate of Rs. 6-4-0 per cent and on "tobacco chura used for bidi manufacturing" sold by an importer at the rate of Rs. 1-9-0 per cent. During the period relating to the assessment years from 1950 to 1956, the petitioners sold imported as well as locally grown-that is in Madhya Bharat-tobacco of the above description. The sales tax authority assessed them to sales tax for these assessment years on the basis of taxable turnover determined after deducting from their turnover the sale of "domestic tobacco" and recovered the tax accordingly.

( 4. ) ON 17th January, 1956, a Division Bench of the Madhya Bharat High Court held in Mohammad Siddiq v. The State of Madhya Bharat A. I. R 1956 M. B. 214, that the sales tax levied under the Act on pugrees made of handloom cotton cloth imported within the State of Madhya Bharat was illegal and repugnant to Article 304 of the Constitution inasmuch as handloom cloth manufactured at four places in Madhya Bharat was exempt from sales tax. Taking cue from this decision, the petitioners contended successfully in some of the appeals against some assessments pending before the appellate authority under the Act that they were not liable to pay any sales tax on imported tobacco sold by them when locally grown tobacco was not subject to a similar tax. They also served on the respondent State notices for the refund of the amount of tax already paid by them on the sale of imported tobacco. As their demand for refund of the tax amount was not conceded, they filed the present petitions.

( 5. ) IN all these petitions, the validity of the imposition of the sales tax is challenged on similar grounds. The grounds on which the respondents have opposed the petitions are also common. Shri Chitale, learned counsel who appeared in support of M. P. No. 145 of 1958, contended that by the notification issued on 24th October, 1953, under Section 5 of the Act sales tax was levied on the sales by the importer of tobacco of the type referred to above and was payable by the importer; that no sales tax was charged on similar home-grown tobacco, though, as was evident from the various Government publications themselves, a considerable quantity of tobacco was grown in the State of Madhya Bharat; that the imposition of the tax was, therefore, contrary to Article 304 and illegal; and that the imposition of the tax being illegal, the assessment and collection thereof from the assessee was under a mistake of law and the respondents were bound to repay the amount of tax collected from the assessee in his case under Section 72 of the Contract Act. He further argued that even if the levy of sales tax on the sales of imported t