V.M SYED MOHAMMAD AND COMPANY versus THE STTE OF ANDHRA.

Citation: [1954] 1 S.C.R. 1117 · Decided: 11-03-1954 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

• 
S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
1117 
have therefore eliminated from our consideration 
the · 
whole of the evidence given by Shanti Lal Ahuja, the 
Additional 
District 
Magistrate, 
and come to our con-
clusion in regard to the gilt of the appellant 
No. 1 
relying solely on the testimony of the two independ- . 
ent witnesses Gadkari and Perulakar. 
The result therefore is 
that the 
appeal 
of the 
appellant No. 1 will be dismissed 
except 
with regard 
to 
his conviction and sentence 
under 
section 120-B 
of the 
Indian Penal Code and the convictions and sen-
tences passed upon 
him by the Judicial 
Commissioner 
under section 465 
and section 466 as 
also 
section 
161 of the 
Indian Penal Code will be confirmed. The 
appeal of the appellant 
No. 2 will be allowed 
and 
he be acquitted 
Md discharged of the offences with 
which he was charged and immediately 
set 
at liberty. 
The bail 
bond of the 
appellant 
No. 2 will 
be 
cancelled. 
V. M. SYED MOHAMMAD AND COMPANY 
v. 
THE ST A TE OF ANDHRA. 
(With Connected Appeal) 
[MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN C. J., MuKHERJEA, 
S. R. DAS, V1v1AN BosE and 
GHULAM HASAN JJ.J 
Constitution 
of 
India, art. 
14-Government 
of India 
Act, 
1935, "'"Y 48 in List I/ of the Seventh Schedule-Madras .General 
Sales Tax Act (IX of 1939)-Whether ultra vires the 
Constitution 
or Government of India Act, 1935-Rule 16(5) framed 
under the 
Act-Whether ultra vires s. 5 (vi) of the Act. 
Held, that the Madras General Sales Tax Act (IX of 1939) is 
not ultra vires the 
Government of India Act, 1935 as 
entry 48 
in List II of the Seventh Schedule to the 
Government of India 
Act, 1935 was wide enough to cover a law imposing a tax on the 
purchaser of goods as well as on the seller. 
Held, also 
that inasmuch as there was 
nothing to suggest 
that the purchasers 
of other commodities 
were 
similarly situated 
as the purchasers 
of hides and skins in the present case, 
the Act 
1954 
Rao Shiv Bahadt11 
Si'flgh and 
Another 
v. 
The Stale of 
Vindhya Pradesh. 
Bhagwati]. 
1954 
March111 .. 
1954 
V. M .• 'iy,d 
Mohammad 
and Company 
v. 
T ht St alt of. 
Andhra 
1118 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1954] 
was not void under art. 14 of the 
Constitution on the ground that 
the impugned 
Act singles out for 
taxing 
purchasers of certain 
specified commodities only but 
leaves 
out purchasers of other 
commodities. 
Article 14 
does not forbid 
classification for 
legislative pur-
poses 
provided 
such 
classification is based on some differentia 
having a reasonable relation to the object and purpose of the law 
in question. 
Rule 16(5) framed 
under the 
Act contravenes the provisions 
of s. 5(vi) of the Act but this sub-rule is severable and does not 
affect the 
validity of the rules 
which 
may otherwise lie within 
the ambit of the Act. 
Chiranjit Lal Chowdhury v. The Union of India ([1950] S.C.R. 
869) relied upon. 
CIVIL 
APPELLATE 
JuRISDICTION : 
Civil 
Appeals 
Nos. 187 and 188 of 1953. 
Appeals under article 132 of the 
Constitution 
of 
India from the Judgment and 
Order, dated 
the 
29th 
August, 1952, 
of the High 
Court of 
Judicature 
at 
Madras in Writ Petitions Nos. 21 and 41 of 1952. 
K. V. Venkatasubramania Iyer (A. N. Rangaswami 
and M. S. K. Aiyangar, with him) for the appellant . 
. M. Sesliachalapathi for the respondent. 
V. 
K. T. 
Chari, 
Advocate-General 
of 
Madras 
(V. V. Raghavan, with him) for the 
intervener (State 
of Madras). 
T. R. Balakrishna Iyer 
and Sardar 
Bahadur 
for 
the intervener (State of Travancore-Cochin). 
Nittoor 
Sreenivasa 
Rao, 
Advocate-General 
of 
Mysore (Porus A. Mehta, with him) for the intervener 
(State of Mysore). 
Lal Narayan Sinha (B. K. P. Sinha, with him) 
for 
the intervener (State of Bihar). 
1954. March 11. 
The Judgment of the Court was 
delivered by 
DAs J.-These two appeals 
arise 
out 
of 
Writ 
Petitions Nos. 21 
and 41 
of 
1952 filed 
in the High 
Court of Judicature at Madras under article 226 ques-
tioning the validity of the Madras General Sales Tax 
Act (IX of 1939) and of the Turnover and Assessment 
Rules framed under that Act. 
.. 
S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
1119 
The petitioners are tanners carrying on business 
in 
Eluru, West Godawari District, which is now part of 
the newly created State of Andhra. They make large 
purchases of untanned hides and skins 
and after tann-
ing them in 
their tanneries 
they export 
the tanned 
hides and skins or sell the same to local purchasers. 
In 
the High Court the appellants imp
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