JUDGMENT

Bharucha, J.-Leave granted in SLP (C) No. 2877 of 1998.

2. A bench of five Judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court interpreted the word "used" in The Andhra Pradesh Non-Agricultural Lands Assessment Act, 1963 ("the said Act") to mean "non-agricultural lands not only `actually used but are `meant to be used or `set apart for being used ." This view is contested in these appeals by some industries in Andhra Pradesh and, with permission, by their Federation.

2. The said Act was enacted to provide for the levy of assessment on lands used for non-agricultural purposes. Section 2(d) defines industrial purpose , so far as it is relevant to these appeals, to mean "any purpose connected with an industrial undertaking where the process of manufacturing any article is carried on with the aid of power...." Non-agricultural land is defined by Section 2(g) to mean "land other than the land used exclusively for the purpose of agriculture..." Section 3 of the said Act is the charging section and, so far as it is relevant, reads thus :

"3. Levy of assessment on non-agricultural lands :-In the case of non-agricultural land in a local area with the population specified in column (1) of the