MADON, J. - (1.) THE Judgment of the court was delivered by
(2.) THESE two appeals by special leave granted by this court are against the judgment and order of the Orissa High court allowing 209 writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India filed before it. Genesis of the Appeals: On 23/05/1977, the government of Orissa in the Finance Department issued two notifications under the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 (Orissa Act 14 of 1947). We will hereinafter for the sake of brevity refer to this Act as "the Orissa Act". These notifications were Notification S.R.O. No. 372 of 1977 and Notification S.R.O. No. 373 of 1977. Notification S.R.O. No. 372 of 1977 was made in exercise of the powers conferred by S. 3-B of the Orissa Act and Notification S.R.O. No. 373 of 1977 was made in exercise of the powers conferred by the first proviso to Ss. (1) of S. 5 of the Orissa Act. We will refer to these notifications in detail in the course of this judgment but for the present suffice it to say that Notification S.R.O. No. 372 of 1977 amended Notification No. 20209-CTA-14/76-F dated 23/04/1976, and made bamboos agreed to be severed and standing trees agreed to be severed liable to tax on the turnover of purchase with effect from 1/06/1977, while Notification S.R.O. No. 373 of 1977 amended with effect from 1/06/1977, Notification No. 20212-CTA-14/76-F dated 23/04/1976, and directed that the tax payable by a dealer under the Orissa Act on account of the purchase of bamboos agreed to be severed and standing trees agreed to be severed would be at the rate of ten per cent. After the promulgation on 29/12/1977, of the Orissa Sales Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 1977 (Orissa Ordinance 10 of 1977), which amended the Orissa Act, two other notifications were issued on 29/12/1977, by the government of Orissa in the Finance Department, namely, Notification No. 67178-C.T.A. 135/77(Pt.)-F (S.R.O. No. 900 of 1977) and Notification No. 67181-C.T.A. 135/77-F (S.R.O. No. 901 of 1977). The first notification was expressed to be made in exercise of the powers conferred by S. 3-B of the Orissa Act and in supersession of all previous notifications issued on that subject. By the said notification the State government declared that the goods set out in the Schedule to the said notification were liable to be taxed on the turnover of purchase with effect from 1/01/1978. Entries 2 and 17 in the Schedule to the said notification specified bamboos agreed to be severed and standing trees agreed to be severed respectively'. The second notification was expressed to be made in exercise of the powers- conferred by Ss. (1) of S. 5 of the Orissa Act and in supersession of all previous notifications in that regard. By the said notification the State government directed that with effect from 1/01/1978, the tax payable by a dealer under the Orissa Act on account of the purchase of goods specified in column (2) of the Schedule to the said notification would be at the rate specified against it in column (3) thereof. In the said Schedule the rate of purchase tax for bamboos agreed to be severed and standing trees agreed to be severed was prescribed as ten per cent. The relevant entries in the Schedule in that behalf are Entries 2 and 17. The Orissa Sales Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 1977, was repeated and replaced by the Orissa Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1978 (Orissa Act 4 of 1978). As many as 209 Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India were filed in the High court of Orissa challenging the validity of the aforesaid two notifications dated 23/05/1977, and the said Entries 2 and 17 in each of the said two notifications dated 29/12/1977 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the impugned provisions"). The petitioners before the High court fell into two categories. The first category consisted of those who had entered into agreements with the State of Orissa for the purpose of felling, cutting, obtaining and removing bamboos from forest areas "for the purpose of converting the bamboo into paper pulp or for purposes connected with the manufacture of paper or in any connection incidental therewith". This agreement will be hereinafter referred to as "the Bamboo Contract". The other group consisted of those who had entered into agreements for the purchase of standing trees. We will hereinafter refer to this agreement as "the Timber Contract". All the Bamboo Contracts before the High court were in the same terms except with respect to the contract area, the period of the agreement and the amount of royalty payable; and the same was the case with the Timber Contracts. By. a common judgment delivered on 19/09/1979, reported as Titaghur Paper Mills Company Ltd. v. State of Orissa, the High court allowed all the said Writ Petition and quashed the impugned provisions. The High court made no order as to the costs of these petitions.
(3.) EACH of the present two appeals has been filed by the State of Orissa, the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Orissa, and the Sales Tax Officer concerned in the matter, challenging-the correctness of the said judgment of the High court. The respondents in Civil 219 of 1982 are the Titaghur Paper Mills Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as "the respondent Company") and one Kanak Ghose, a shareholder and director of the respondent Company. The respondents in Civil 220 of 1982 are Mangalji Mulji Khara, a partner of the firm of Messrs. M.M.Khara, and the said firm. The Chief Conservator of Forests, Orissa, the Divisional Forest Officer, Rairkhol Division, and the Divisional Forest Officer, Deogarh Division, have also been joined as pro forma respondents to the said appeal. The respondent Company is a public limited company. Its registered office is situate at Calcutta in the State of West Bengal. The respondent Company carries on inter alia the business of manufacturing paper. For this purpose it. owned at the relevant time three paper mills-one at Titaghur in the State of West Bengal, the second at Kankinara also in the State of West Bengal, and the third at P.O. Choudwar, Cuttack District, in the State of Orissa. 'For the purpose of obtaining raw materials for its business of manufacturing paper, the respondent Company entered into a Bamboo Contract dated 20/01/1974, with the State of Orissa. This agreement was effective for a period of fourteen years from 1/10/1966, in respect of Bonai Main Areas of Bonai Division; for a period of thirteen years with effect from 1/10/1967, in respect of Kusumdih P.S. of Bonai Division; and for a period of eleven years with effect from 1/10/1969, in respect of Gurundia Rusinath P. S. of Bonai Division, with an option to the respondent Company to renew the said agreement for a further period of twelve years from 1/10/1980. For the present it is not necessary to refer to the other terms and conditions of this Bamboo Contract.;