Grover, J. - (1.) This is an appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment of the Assam and Nagaland High Court.
(2.) The appellant is an incorporated company. It has a tea garden by the name of Dukhinhongra Tea Estate. This tea estate established a market on its own private land. This market is stated to have been functioning for about 100 years. When the market was under the administrative control of the Local Board, the appellant used to pay Rs. 1,000/- per year as licence fee. In 1959, The Assam Panchayat Act, 1959 came into force. The administration of this market vested in what is called Anchalik Panchayat constituted under the provisions of the Act. The Golghat East Anchalik Panchayat in a meeting held on the May 23, 1966 proposed an increase of the tax and the licence fee and decided that the licence fee should be raised to Rs. 7,000/- per annum. That proposal was accepted by the Government w.e.f. the financial year 1967. In the order itself, it was stated that the revised rate of licence fee shall be Rs. 7,000/-.
(3.) The appellant filed a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in the High Court. In the Writ Petition the main point which appears to have been raised is that the licence fee of Rs. 7,000/- per annum was not related to the services rendered by the local authority. The authority of the Panchayat to levy tax or fee in respect of a market was also challenged.;