Manas Nath Roy, J. - (1.) This Rule, at the instance of the petitioner, a fish merchant since 1960, and having a fish stall in the Jubilee Market, Suri, which belongs to the Respondent Suri Municipality (hereinafter referred to as the said Municipality), is directed against a resolution in Annexure "B", which is dated 8th June 1975, directing the levy of toll on sale of fish and an order of consequential cancellation of his licence in Annexure 'D'.
(2.) There is no dispute that the petitioner, for the purposes of his business and dealing in fish, at all material times has paid the necessary licence fee of Rs. 52/- per month to the said Municipality. On or about 31st May, 1975, he learnt about a direction of the Authorities of the said Municipality that all sellers and dealers in fish under them or holding licence for that, will have to pay toll of 10 paise per kilogram per day of fish sold, to them. Since the petitioner considered such levy of toll to be illegal, improper and unauthorised, he raised an objection and further contended the said levy of toll to be mala fide. The said direction was issued by or at the instance of the President of the Suri Municipal Committee (hereinafter referred to as the said Committee), the function whereof, was also considered by the petitioner to be irregular and furthermore he considered the acts of such body to be illegal and also unauthorised.
(3.) Then on or about 2nd June, 1975, the said Committee through its President issued a show cause notice (Annexure "A") against the petitioner on the allegation that he has refused to pay tolls to the said Municipality. In the said order, there was also a threat that the petitioner's licence for selling fish would be cancelled. The petitioner has alleged that he along with other licence holders made verbal representation against the said mala fide, irregular, illegal and void order to realise tolls. He has stated that in spite of such representations, on or about 10th June, 1975, he received the purported resolution (Annexure 'B') of the said Committee which was dated 8th June, 1975 and whereby a toll of 10 paise per kilogram of fish as sold per day, was imposed on the licence holders. The petitioner has stated that he made an unsuccessful representation to the president of the said committee, against such illegal, unauthorised, arbitrary and irregular imposition. By the said representation in Annexure 'C' a personal hearing was also asked for. It has been stated that even in spite of such representation and without even disposing of or considering the same duly and legally, the impugned order in Annexure 'D' dated 16th June, 1975, was passed cancelling his licence with effect from 20th June, 1975. It further appears from the letter in Annexure "E" which is dated 21st June, 1975 that the said committee had kept the implementation of the said order of cancellation of licence in abeyance for one day for the purpose of getting an undertaking from the petitioner to pay the necessary toll at the rate as imposed.;