The High Court accepted the appellants companytention that the Act of 1959 was unconstitutional but it dismissed the writ petitions on the ground that the appellants were number entitled to any relief as they had number challenged the Act of 1962 which had validated the Act of 1959.
2, the Tax Officer, assessed tax in varying amounts for different quarters on the goods carried by the appellants by road.
The dismissal of those writ petitions has given rise to these appeals by special leave.
1968 the Orissa Legislature, having obtained the previous sanction of the President to the moving of the Bill, passed the Orissa Taxation on Goods Carried by Roads or Inland Waterways Act.
After the decision of the High Court, respondent No.
By Section 1 3 , the Act was to be deemed to have companye into force on April 27, 1959 being the date on which the Act of 1959 had companye into force.
There is numbersubstance in any of the companytentions raised on behalf of the appellants regarding the companystitutionality of the Act of 1968.
On March 25.
It was held by this Court that the validating Act of 1962 did number cure the defect from which the Act of 1959 suffered and therefore, respondents were number entitled to recover any tax from the appellants under the aforesaid Acts.
Those petitions were dismissed by the High Court but in appeal, the judgment of the High Court was set aside by this Court on August 10, 1967.
imposing the same levy which it had unsuccessfully attempted to levy under the Act of 1959 and to validate under the Act of 1962.
The bill which matured into the impugned Act was introduced by the Orissa Legislature after obtaining the previous sanction of the President under the Proviso to Article 304 of the Constitution.
Some of the appellants from whom the State Government had recovered taxes after the Act of 1962 was upheld by the High Court asked for refund thereof after that Act was declared unconstitutional by this Court.
The refund having been refused by the Government, the appellants filed writ petitions in the High Court challenging the validity of the 1968 Act.
The appellants then filed fresh writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the Act of 1962.
8 of 1968.
As shown by the Preamble, the Act was passed in order to provide for the levy of tax on certain goods carried by roads or inland waterways in the State of Orissa and to validate certain taxes imposed on such goods.
During the pendency of the writ petitions filed by the appellants in the Orissa High Court, the Orissa Legislature passed the Orissa Taxation on Goods Carried by Roads or Inland Waterways Validation Act, 18 of 1962, validating the Act of 1959.
V. Chandrachud, J. In 1959, the Orissa Legislature enacted the Orissa Taxation on Goods Carried by Roads or Inland Waterways Act, 7 of 1959, the companystitutionality of which was challenged by the appellants on the ground that the Bill leading to the Act was moved without the previous sanction of the President of India, as required by the Proviso to Article 304 of the Constitution.
