M. P. V. SUNDARARAMIER & CO. versus THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH & ANOTHER

Citation: [1958] 1 S.C.R. 1422 · Decided: 11-03-1958 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: SUDHI RANJAN DAS · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 6 judgment(s) · cites 5 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

1958 
JVlrlle 
v. 
White 
K(:pur J. 
1958 
March 11. 
1422 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(1958] 
the inclination and conduct of the wife. On the otaer 
hand her conduct as shown by the evidence is so enti-
rely consistent with her guilt as to justify the conclu-
sion of her having committed adultery with respon-
dent No. 2 and therefore the finding of the Courts 
below as to the guilt should be reversed. 
We would therefore, allow this appeal, set aside 
the judgment and decree of the High Court and pass 
a decree nisi for dissolution of marriage. As adultery 
has been proved respondent No. 2 shall pay the costs 
in this Court and in the Courts below. 
Appeal allowed. 
M. P. V. SUNDARARAMIER & CO. 
v. 
THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH 
& ANOTHER 
(with connected petitions) 
(S. R. DAS C. J., VENKATARAMA AlYAR, S. K. DAS, 
A. K. SARKAR 
and 
VIVIAN 
BosE JJ.) 
Sales Tax-Inter-State sales-Sale outside State but goods 
delivered for consumption within State-Competence of States to 
levy tax-Conditional legislation-Power of Parliament to autho-
rise such· taxation-President's Adaptatiori Order-Scope of-
} 
Nature of-Retrospective operation-Enactment unconstitutional 
in part-Effect-Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939 (Mad. 9 
of 1939), as adapted to Andhra, ss. 2(h), 22-.Sales Tax Laws 
Validation Act, 1956 (7 of 1956), s. 2-.Constitution of India, 
Arts. 246, 286, 301, 372, Sch. VII, List I, Entry 42, List II, 
Entry 54. 
The petitioners were dealers cai;rying on business in the City 
of Madras in the sale and purchase of yarn. The dealers in the 
State of Andhra used to place orders for the purchase of yarn 
with the petitioners in Madras, where the contracts were concluded 
and the goods were delivered ex-godown at Madras and thereafter 
despatched to the purchasers who would take delivery of them 
within their State. The present dispute related to sales in which 
property in the goods sold passed outside the State of Andhra, 
but the goodi theiruelves were actually delivered as a result 
S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
1423 
of the sale for consumption within that State. 
After the coming 
1958 
into force of the Constitution of India the President in the· 
-
exercise of the powers conferre4 by Art. 372(2) made Adaptation M. P. v. Sundara-
Orders with reference to the Sales Tax Laws of all the States, 
ram/er &: Co. 
and as r~gards the Madra5 General Sales Tax Act, 1939, he issued 
•· 
an Ame11dment inserting a new section, s. 22 in that Act, which 
The State oJ 
was a verbatim reproduction of the Explanation to Art 286( 1 )(a) Andhra Praderh 
of the Constitution. 
On July 13, 1954, the Board of Revenue 
(Commercial Taxes) in the State of Aqdhra, acting on the decision 
in The State of Bombay and another v. The United Motors (India) 
Ltd., and others, {1953] S.C.R. 1069, called upon dealers in the 
State of Madras to submit returns of their turnover of sales in 
which goods were delivered in the State of Andhra for consump-
tion. Thereupon they filed the present petitions under Art. 32 of 
the Constitution challenging the demand on the grounds, inter aUa, 
that the sales proposed to be taxed were inter-State sales and 
that they were immune from taxation under Art 286(2) of the 
Constitution. While the petitions were pending the Supreme 
Court pronounced on September 6, 1955, its judgment in The 
Bengal Immunity Company Umited v. The State of Bihar and 
others, [1955] 2 S.C.R. 603, according to which the petitioners 
were not liable to be taxed. But before final orders were passed 
on the petitions Parliament passed Sales Tax Laws Validation Act, 
1956, s. 2 whereof provided that no law of a State imposing or 
authorising the imposition of tax on inter-State sales during the 
period between April 1, 1951, and September 6, 1955, shall be 
deemed to be invalid or ever to have been invalid merely by 
reason of the fact that the sales took place in the course of the 
inter-State trade. 
That section further provided that taxes levied 
or collected on such sales during the aforesaid period shall be 
deemed to have been validly levied or collected. It was the con-
tention of the State of Andhra that by reason of the aforesaid 
provision it had the right to impose tax on inter-State sales during 
the aforesaid period. On the other hand the petitioners con-
tended, inter alia, that ( 1) s. 22 of the Madras General Sales Tax 
Laws Validation Act, 1956, which gave validity to laws which 
imposed a tax, did not authorise the imposition, (2)

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