LexTHE INDORE IRON AND STEEL REGISTERED STOCK-HOLDERS' ASSOCIATION versus THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS
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19'61 July Zli 924 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1962J 'L'HE INDOHE IRON AND 8'fEEL REGISTERED STOCK-HOLDERS' ASSOCIATION v. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS (P. B. GAJENDRA<fADKAR, K. SUllBA RAO, M. HIDAYATULLAH, J.C. SHAH and RAGHUBAR DAYAL, JJ.) Satea Tax-Commodity declared essential for tke lif< of community-Impo,gition of tax by State Government under prior enactment-Constitutional validity-Constitution of India, Art. 286 (3)-J:ssential Goode (Declaration 'Jm,d Reyulation of Tax "" Sa/, "'' Purchase) Act, 1952, ss.2, 3 Madhya Bharat Bales Tax Act, Samt-at 2007, s. 5( 2). The constituent members of the appellant Association, \Vho carried on business in iron and steel articles were assessed to sales tax for the years 1953-.54 and 1954-.55 under a notifi- cation dated October 24, 1953, issued by the State of Madhya Bharat under s. 5(2) of the Madhya Bharat Sales Tax Act, Samvat 2007, (Act No. 30 of 1950). The appellant moved the High Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution challenging the validity of the assessment on the ground that the said articles were covered by the declaration made by Parliament by s. 2 of the Essential Guods (Declaration and Regulation of Tax on Sale or Purchase) Act, 1952, that iron and steel were essential <ommoditics within tlie meaning of Art. 286(3) of the Consti- tution which was operative from August 9, 1952. The High Court found against the appellant. Held that even asswning that the words "iron and steel" in Entry 14 of the Schedule to the Act were comprehensive enough to include articles made of iron and steel, that would not necessarily render the uotification invalid under Art. 286(3} of the Constitution. Article 286( 3) as it stood before the Constitution (Sixth Amendment} Act, i'956, could be succe,sfully. invoked onlr if three conditions were satisfied,--( I) that the impugned leg1Sla· tion wa!i une by the Legisld.turc of a State, 1.:onstitutt:d un?er the Uons\itution, .(2) that it was subsequ~nt to the declaration made by the Parliament as to the essential character of the commodity and ( 3) that it could be, but wa; not, reserved for the President's comideration and assent. It wa:; obvious, therefore, that a subsequent Parliamentary I 2 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 925 declaration could not affect the validity of an enactment retrospectively. Sardar Soma Singh v. The State of Pepsu and Union of India, (1954) S. C.R. 955 and Firm of A. Gowri•hankar v. Sales Tax Ufficer, Secunderabad, A. I. R. 1958 S. C. 883, referred to. Although the Act, under which the impugned notllication was made, satisfied the first condition, it did not satisfy the second or the third and, mnsequently, its validity could not be questioned unde1 Art. 286(3) of the Constitution, Held, further, that it was apparent from s. 3 of the Essential Goods (Declaration and Regulation of Tax on Sale or Purchase) Act, 1952, that if a law had been passed prior to the commencement of the Act authorising the imposition of a tax, itS'validity could not be challenged on the ground that the said commodity was subsequently declared by the Act to be essential for the life of the community. The. impugned notification and the State Act under which it was made were, therefore, outside the purview of s. 3 of the Act. C1vn, APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil ApPeals Nos. 509 and 510 of 1960. Appeals by special leave from the judgmellt and order dated October 26, 1956, of the former Madhya Bharat High Court Indore, in Ci·;i! Misc. Cases Nos; 26 of 54 and 48 of 55. A. V. Viswanatlta Sastri, C. B. Agarwala and A. G. Ratnaparkhi, for the appellants. R. J, Bhave and I. N. Shroff, for the respon· dents. 1961. July 26. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 1961 The Indore Iran aiui Stul Registered Stocf,,, holrler1' ,48111. v. The State of Madhya Prarleak GAJENDRAGADKAR, J.-The appellant, the Gajend1agaiikar Indore Iron and Steel Registered Stock.holders' J. Association (Private) Ltd., is a registered Associa- tion whose constituent members carry on bu8ine8s generally in fabricated iron and steel material and more partic~larly in iron sheets, plain or corrugated, b~rs, ro~s, hght an~ heavy structurals, nail8, joints, wire nails and ftll kmds and v~rieties of wires and 1961 The Indore lroro and Sleei Registered Stock- holdtre' Assn. v. The State of Jf adhya Pradesh Gajendragadkar J. 926 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1962) pipe,. This
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