R.R.Rastogi, J. - (1.) By these petitions under Article 216 of the Constitution the petitioners challenge the levy the licence fee at the rate Rs. 1,000 per annum for running a poultry farm.
(2.) The petitioners have been running poultry farms within the municipal limits of Kashipur District Nainital. The Nagar Palika Kashipur by virtue of the powers conferred under Section 298 of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916 hereafter the Act passed a regulation known as Poultry Farm Regulation. This Regulation was published in the official gazette through' Notification No. 1236/23-5 dated August 30, 1975. By means of this Regulation bye-laws have been made under cause I (h) and J (a) of subsection of Section 298 of the Act. Bye-law 2, inter alia, defines a poultry farm as a place where 25 or more than 25 birds a e kept for ca1 having on the business, in the same. Bye-law 8 provides that a licence fee of Rs. 1,000 shall have to be paid for each licence each year. The Nagar Palika Kashipur served a notice on the petitioners on 21-1-1976 calling upon them to obtain a licence for the poultry farms for 1970-76 within fifteen days from the date of the receipt of the notice. The petitioner filed an objection to that notice on 11 2-76 in which case taken was that the amount of licence fee demanded was excessive and arbitrary. It appears that no action was taken on that objection and the petitioner, then, filed the present writ petitions challenging the levy of the licence fee.
(3.) The main ground of attack is that the imposition of licence fee at Rs. 1,000 per annum is a restraint on the trade and business, inasmuch as the amount is highly excessive and apart from that there is no element of guide proquo involved in the levely of this fee.;