4038 and 4244/78.
M. Tarkunde, P. H. Parekh, C. B. Singh and Mukul Mudgar for the Petitioners in W.P. Nos.
4038, 4147, 4148, 4149, 4150, 4202, 4204, 4207, 4213, 4215, 4222, 4224, 4227, 4232, 4236, 4246, 4249, 4251, 4259, 4311, 4343 4347 of 1978.
Pramod Swarup for the Petitioner in W.P. 4347/78.
Hardev Singh and R. S. Sodhi for the State of Punjab in P. 4038/78 .
4147 4150, 4207, 4232 and 4343/78.
Bishamber Lal for the State of Punjab in W. P. 4147/78 .
4213, 4215, 4246, 4249, 4311, 4224 and 4227/78.
Shreepal Singh for the Petitioner in W.P. 4236/78.
Yogeshwar Prasad, Mrs. Rani Chhabra and Miss M. Bali for the Petitioners in W.P. Nos.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KRISHNA IYER, J. This heavy bunch of writ petitions impeaching the validity of a tax on foreign liquor raises a few familiar legal riddles.
To pick the pocket of every spirituous bibber of the higher brackets by a tiny tax may be but a feeble homage to Art.
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION Writ Petitions Nos.
P. Sharma for the Petitioners in W.P. Nos.
L. Sanghi In W.P. 4038/78 only S. K. Mehta, K. R. Nagaraja, P. N. Puri and G. Lal for Municipality rr in P. 4038, 4207, 4215, 4249, 4227.
R. Kapur and S. K. Sabharwal for the Petitioners in P. Nos.
P. Jha for the Petitioner in W.P. 4251/78.
Naunit Lal for Municipal Committee R.6 in W.P. 4249 and for r. 4 in 4227/78.
A rupee per bottle sold within every municipal town or city is the impugned levy, meant, according to the Punjab Government, to serve the twin purposes of replenishing the resources of municipal bodies reduced by house tax exemptions and of weaning drinkers from overly companysuming foreign liquor as a prohibitionist gesture.
C. Bhandare In W.P. 4204 and 4227/78 only Mrs. S. Bhandare, A. N. Karkhanis and Miss Malini Poduval for R. 3 In W.P. 4204, 4227/78 and for R. 3 in 4215 and for R. 3 4 in 4249/78.
4222, 4259/78.
Under Article 32 of the Constitution .
