il Appeal Nos
86973 863 6477 146080 128173 and 1133 3479
From the Judgments and Orders dated 2211973 18111976 1041980 301072 and 24101978 of the Hyderabad Ahmedabad Allahabad Kerala Allahabad High Courts in Writ Appeal No 15472 Special Civil Application No 59769 59869 FAFO No 2351972 SCA No 137071972  Special Appeal No 3 and 41972
WITH Bombay High Court
VCMahajan GL Sanghi NR Khaitan Alok Sharma Krishan Kumar Mrs P Shroff Mrs AK Verma Joel Peres and SK Jain for the Appellants in all the appeals
VA Bobde BR Agarwala Ms section Manchanda Dr D Chandrachud and P 
Parekh for the Petitioners in Transferred Cases
G Ramaswamy Additional Solicitor General VC Mahajan Harish Salve DN Misra Mrs AK Verma TC Sharma and CV Subba Rao for the Respondents in all the appeals
GRamaswamy Additional Solicitor General VC Mahajan SS Shroff P Shroff R Sasiprabhu TC Sharma CV Subba Rao
VB Desai Bharat Sangal and Ms Madhuri Gupta for the Respondents in all the Transfer Cases
PH Parekh and P Narasimhan for the Intervener
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SEN J
In all these appeals except the one by special leave and the connected transferred cases brought by the appellants each of which is a company incorporated under the engageded in the business of manufacture and sale on a very large scale of textiles PG NO 884 generally and also of rayon yarn and staple fibre both of which form species of what is known as man made fibre ie artificial silk there is a common question as to the constitutional validity of a fee imposed under r 21 of the Textiles Committee Rules 1965 made by the Central Government under section 22 of the  by the Textiles Committee constituted under section 3 of the Act on the production of rayon yarn and staple fibre ie man made fibres manufactured by them
These appeals are against the various judgments and orders of the High Courts of Allahabad Andhra Pradesh Gujarat and Madras upholding the validity of the levy
The remaining appeal ie Civil Appeal No 1281 of 1973 is preferred by the Textiles Committee against the judgment and order of the Kerala High Court taking the view to the contrary
The facts in all these cases are more or less similar
It would suffice for our purposes to notice the salient features thereof
To illustrate the appellant company in Civil Appeal No 869 of 1973 Messrs Sirsilk Ltd Hyderabad is a manufacturer of rayon yarn and staple fibre and has established its factory at Sirpur Kagaznagar in the State of Andhra Pradesh for the manufacture of the aforesaid man made fibres
The Chief Inspecting Officer Textiles Committee by his letter dated May 19 1965 directed all the textile mills in India including the appellant to send immediately the monthwise statements of production for March and April l965 and a cheque in payment of the fees due thereon
However the Association of Man made Fibre Industry Bombay of which the appellant is a member by its letter dated May 25 1985 advised the textile mills to keep the payment of fees in abeyance as it had made a representation dated May 26 1965 on behalf of its members to the Ministry of Commerce Government of India and to the Textiles Commissioner
Along with its letter the Association forwarded to all its members a copy of the said representation
By a further letter dated May 29 1965 the Association advised all the textile mills including the appellant to send a reply to the letter addressed by the Textiles Committee demanding payment of fees to the effect that the Association had already made a represention to the Ministry of Commerce and to the Textiles Commissioner and as soon as a reply was received by them they would revert to the subject and take such action as might be necessary in the circumstances
In the mean while the Textiles Committee by its letter dated August 10 1965 made a demand for payment of the fees for the months of March to July 1965
The appellant in its reply expressed its inability to pay the fees in view of the pending representation made by the Association on their behalf and more so because the Association had advised the members that PG NO 885 the fee would become payable by the textile mills only in connection with the inspection and examination and must be commensurate with the exact quantum of services rendered by the Committee
The appellant were however informed that one of its members had already remitted the fees
Consequently the appellant paid a sum of Rs4018637 p towards the fee for the period from March 1 1965 to February 28 1966
It however adopted to the stand that the payment of the fee was under a mistake and under misconception as to its legal rights
It accordingly called upon the Association to take up the matter with the Ministry of Commerce and the Textiles Commissioner and to lodge a strong protest against the illegal exaction of the fee by the Textiles Committee from its members when in fact no services of any kind were being rendered
Thereafter the Accounts Officer Textiles Committee by letter dated February 26 1969 called upon the appellant to remit a sum of RS3334362 p towards the fee in respect of production of rayon or staple fibre for the period from March 1 1966 to March 31 1967
It was also advised to pay the fee upto April 1968
In response thereto the appellant by its letter dated February 27 1969 stated that the Association had on behalf of its members addressed a letter to the Secretary Textiles Committee for certain clarifications and on receipt of the reply the Association would advise its members as to the course of action
Eventuallythe Secretary Textiles Committee by a letter dated March 11 1970 called upon the appellant that it should remit an amount of Rs3513863 p being the amount of fee outstanding within ten days failing which the said amount would be recovered as arrears of land revenue under section 122 of the Act
Aggrieved the appellant moved the High Court of Andhra Pradesh under article 226 of the Constitution challenging the validity of the fee and the threatened action for recovery
A learned Single Judge Parthasarthi J by his judgment dated January 28 1972 dismissed the writ petition upholding the validity of the levy of the fee
On appeal being preferred by the appellant the judgment of the learned Single Judge was upheld by a Division Bench Gopuirao Ekbote CJ and Chennakesava Reddy J by its judgment dated January 22 1973
The High Court of Andhra Pradesh preferred to follow the view expressed by BN Lokur J of the Allahabad High Court in Ms Juggilal Kamalapat Cotton Spinning Weaving Mills Co Ltd vs The Textiles Committee Bombay  and dissented from the view taken by Issac J in The Travancore Rayons Ltd vs The Textile Committee ILR holding that the Textiles Committee was not entitled to levy any fee under r4 of the Rules so long as it was not rendering any service by way of inspection or examination of rayon yarn
PG NO 886 Briefly stated the facts in transferred cases nos
351 352 of 1983 are these
The petitioner in the first case the Century Spg  Mfg Co Ltd Bombay carry on the business of manufacture of rayon yarn and tyre cord yarn both of which form species of what is popularly known as men made rayon  while the petitioners in the second Messrs Century Enka Limited Bombay carry on the business of manufacture of nylon filament yarn
By letter dated May 25 1968 the Accounts Officer Textiles Committee Bombay called upon the petitioner the Century Spg  Mfg Co Ltd to remit a sum of Rs58918746 p as fees in respect of production of 2945937321 kgs of rayon yarn for the period from March 1 1966 to April 30 1968
The petitioners were also called upon to pay the fees for April 1968
In reply the petitioners by their letter dated June 18 1968 stated that the Association of Man made Fibre Industry Bombay had addressed a letter to the Secretary Textiles Committee for certain clarifications in the matter and on receipt of the reply the Association would be advising its members further
Thereupon further correspondence ensued between the Textiles Committee on the one hand and the Association on the other
Thereafter by letter dated February 20 1969 the Secretary Textiles Committee intimated the petitioner that it was proposed to initiate immediate action to recover the outstanding fees from the petitioner as arrears of land revenue as contemplated under section 122 of the Act
It was further stated that in order to avoid coercive proceedings the petitioner should pay up the arrears at least upto March 31 1967 amounting to Rs31997711 p in any case before March 1 1969 failing which the Textiles Committee would be constrained to advise the concerned Collector to enforce recovery of the outstanding fees as arrears of land revenue
The petitioner accordingly moved a petition under article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court of Bombay for quashing the impugned notice of demand dated February 201969 complaining that they had at no time made any application for inspection andor examination of the yarn they manufacture nor did they ever approach the said Committee to inspect andor examine yarn manufactured by them
They averred that neither the said Committee nor any one on its behalf had rendered any service whatsoever to them either at their instance or otherwise
Similarly the petitioner Century Enka Limited moved a petition under article 226 of the Constitution the High Court of Bombay contending that the Textiles Committee was not entitled to demand or recover a sum of Rs7855315 p or any other sum by way of fees on the nylon yarn manufactured by them on the ground that the element of quid pro quo was totally absent inasmuch PG NO 887 as no services at all were rendered by the Committee to them
These two writ petitions were ordered to be transferred to this Court under article 139 of the Constitution and numbered as transferred cases nos
351 352 of 1983
Similar are the facts in other cases
In transferred case no35483 Messrs Nirlon Synthetic Fibres  Chemicals Limited Bombay carry on the business of manufacture of nylon yarn and apparently paid Rs882040 p by way of fees on the nylon yam manufactured by them in compliance with the notice of demand issued by the Accounts Officer Textiles Committee dated February 20 1969
The petitioner in the other case transferred case No 35583 Messrs Garwara Nylons Limited Bombay also carry on the business of manufacture or nylon yarn and paid Rs5173889 p by way of fee in compliance with the circular issued by the Chief Inspecting Officer Textiles Committee Bombay dated May 19 1965 and assert that the payment of the said amount was under a mistake
Both these petitioners moved the High Court under article 226 of the Constitution challenging the validity of the levy of the fee and prayed for the issue of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the Textiles Committee to refund the amounts recovered from them
Both these writ petitions were also transferred to this Court under article l39 and are numbered as transferred cases nos
354 35583
In Civil Appeals Nos 863 86477 the appellant Baroda Rayon Corporation Limited Gujarat are engaged in the business of manufacture of rayon yarn and paid Rs55100 towards the fee in compliance with the notice of demand issued by the Accounts Officer Textiles Committee dated March 9 1966 for the period from March 1 1965 to February 28 1966
They were further called upon by the Secretary Textiles Committee to remit a sum of Rs3921126 p towards the arrears upto March 31 1967
The appellant challenged the recovery of the said amount of Rs55100 as well as the threatened demand of a further sum of Rs3921126 p by the Textiles Committee as being ultra vires by petitions under article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court of Gujarat
A Division Bench section Obul Reddy CJ  NH Bhatt J by its judgment dated November 18 1976 upheld the validity of the fee and accordingly dismissed the writ petitions
The appellant in Civil Appeal No 146080 Messrs Modipon Limited Meerut are manufacturers of nylon yarn
The Accounts Officer Textiles Committee by his letter dated June 11 1960 required the company to pay the arrears of fees for the period from March 1965 to May 1968
The company PG NO 888 brought a suit being Original Suit No 8670 in the Court of the II Civil Judge Meerut for a declaration and perpetual injunction
In the suit it applied for grant of a temporary injunction under Order XXXIX r 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 restraining the Textiles Committee from recovering the fees on the ground that the nylon yarn manufactured by them did not fall within the definition of textiles  under section 2g of the Act
The learned Civil Judge by his order dated May 12 1972 granted ad interim temporary injunction but later vacated the same
The appellant accordingly went up in appeal to the High Court
A Division Bench MN Shukla  NN Mithal JJ by its order dated April 10 1980 substantially disallowed the application for temporary injunction while making a direction requiring the learned Civil Judge to examine whether the appellant had commenced production since March 1968 and therefore the demand for fee for the period anterior to the commencement of the production could not possibly be sustained
Appellants in Civil Appeals Nos
1133 3479 Messrs J business of manufacture of rayon yarn under the name and style of JK Rayon and of nylon yarn under the name and style of JK Synthetics Limited
For the period from March 1965 to February 1966 they paid Rs4937265 p
Thereafter they fell into arrears
The two companies filed petitions under article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court of Allahabad contending inter alia that the said payments were made under mistake without realising the implications of the or the Rules and prayed for the issue of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the Textiles Committee to refund the amount in question
As already stated BN Lokur J in Juggilal s case by his judgment dated November 6 1971 upheld the validity of the levy of the fee and dismissed the writ petitions
On appeal a Division Bench Satish Chandra CJ and Yashoda Nandan J by its judgment dated October 24 1978 dismissed the appeal
In Civil Appeal No 1281 of 1973 the Textiles Committee has come up in appeal against the judgment of a learned Single Judge of the High Court of Kerala Isaac J who by his judgment dated March 3 1972 in Travancore Rayons Ltd held that the levy of the fee by the Committee was without the authority of law and so long as the Committee was not rendering any service by way of inspection and examination of rayon yarn manufactured by Messrs Travancore Rayon Limited it was not entitled to recover the same
PG NO 889 In order to appreciate the rival contentions it is necessary to set out the background in which the Textiles Committee was constituted the object and purpose of the as also the relevant provisions of the said Act and the Rules made thereunder
The history of the legislation has been set out in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Textiles Committee and is as follows
The Second world war gave a completely sheltered market for Indian Textiles and created an unprecedented boom for their products
They were however for a variety of reasons unable to with stand the severe international competition they had to face in foreign markets with the return of normal conditions after the war
Alive to the various problems faced by the Textile Industry in general and the Cotton Textile Industry in particular the Government of India took timely steps to arrest the crisis by adopting various measures to safeguard production and export of cotton textiles and to assure the efficiency of the Cotton Textile Industry
It was in this context that the Cotton Textiles Fund Ordinance 1944  was promulgated establishing a Fund  for supervising the exports of cloth and yarn and for develop ment of technical education research and other matters in relation to the Cotton Textile Industry
The Cotton Textiles Fund Committee which was appointed as the body to perform the various functions imposed under the Ordinance did very useful work during the period from 1945 to 1964 for the improvement of the said industry and so as to enable it to meet the competition of foreign textiles in international market
The Ordinance promulgated in 1944 establishing the Cotton Textiles Fund Committee had provisions to safeguard exports of Cotton Textiles only
As more and more items of textiles such as wool
silk art silk and other man made fibre fabrics and yarn started finding their way into the international market in increasing quantities
it became necessary for the Government of India to create a homo genous entity to look after and promote the improvement and safeguard for all such textile items
It was also necessary to take such step in the case of these schemes of the Textile Industry both for improving standards in such industry and because the same were in many ways connected and inter related with the Textile Industry
Such action and inter relation arose because of the nature of the commodities and because in many cases composite fibres and textiles were produced and many units engaged in production of such synthetics and other materials were also engaged in the Cotton Textile Industry
Parliament accordingly enacted the hereinafter referred to as the Act  which received the assent of the President on December 3 1963
It was PG NO 890 meant to re enact the provisions of the aforesaid Ordinance and to make the same applicable to all textiles including all synthetic fibres ie rayon yarn staple fibre nylon yarn man made fibre commonly known as artificial silk
The avowed object and purpose of the Act as reflected in the long title is to provide for the establishment of a Committee for ensuring the
quality of textiles and textile machinery and for matters connected therewith
section 2f of the Act defines textile machinery  to mean the equipment employed directly or indirectly for the processing of textile fibre into yarn and for the manufacture of fabric therefrom by weaving or knitting and to include equipment used either wholly or partly for the finishing folding or packing of textiles
section 2g defines textiles 
This definition as originally enacted read as follows 2g
Textiles  means any fabric or cloth or yarn made wholly or in part of cotton or wool or silk or artificial silk or other fibre
 By Act No 51 of 1973 a new definition of textiles  was substituted we f
January 1 1975 and it reads 2g
textiles  means any fabric or cloth or yarn or garment or and other article made wholly or in part of i cotton or ii woolor iii silkor iv artificial silk or other fibre and includes fibre
section 3 of the Act provides for establishment of the Textiles Committee by the Central Government
section 4 deals with the functions of the Committee
The functions of the Committee as stated in section 4 generally are to ensure by such measures as it thinks fit standard qualities of textiles both for internal marketing and export purposes and the manufacture and use of standard type of textile machinery
It reads follows 4 Functions of the Committee 1
Subject to the provisions of this Act the functions of the Committee shall PG NO 891 generally be to ensure by such measures as it thinks fit standard qualities of textiles both for internal marketing and export purposes and the manufacture and use of standard type of textile machinery
2 without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub section 1 the Committee may a undertake assist and encourage scientific technological and economic research in textile industry and textile machinery b promote export of textiles and textile machinery and carry on propaganda for that purpose c establish or adopt or recognise standard specifications for i textiles and ii packing materials used in the packing of textiles or textile machinery for the purposes of export and for internal consumption and affix suitable marks on such standardised varieties of textiles and packing materials d specify the type of quality control or inspection which will be applied to textiles or textile machinery da provide for training in the techniques of quality control to be applied to textiles or textile machinery e provide for the inspection and examination of i textiles ii textile machinery at any stage of manufacture and also while it is in use at mill heads iii packing materials used in the packing of textiles or textile machinery f establish laboratories and test houses for the testing of textiles PG NO 892 g provide for testing textiles and textile machinery in laboratories and test houses other than those established under clause f h collect statistic for any of the above mentioned purposes from i manufacturers of and dealers in textiles ii manufacturers of textile machinery and iii such other persons as may be prescribed i advice on all matters relating to the development of textile industry and the production of textile machinery j provide for such other matters as may be prescribed
3 In the discharge of its functions the Committee shall be bound by such directions as the Central Government may for reasons to be stated in writing give to it from time to time
section 7 of the Act provides for constitution of a Fund called the Textiles Fund
Fees recovered under the Act form part of this Fund
The moneys in the Fund are applied for meeting the pay and allowances of the officers and other employees of the Committee and other administrative expenses of the Committee and for carrying out the purposes of the Act
section 11 confers on the Committee the power of inspection and provides 11 Inspection 1 The Committee may on application made to it or otherwise direct an officer specially authorised in that behalf to examine the quality of textiles or the suitability of textile machinery for use at the time of manufacture or while in use in a textile mill and submit a report to the Committee
2 Subject to any rules made under this Act such an officer shall have power to a inspect any operation carried on in connection with the manufacture of textiles or textile machinery in relation PG NO 893 to which construction particulars marks or inspection standards have been specified b the samples of any article or of any material or substance used in any article or process in relation to which construction particulars marks or inspection standards have been specified c exercise such other powers as may be prescribed
3 On receipt of the report referred to in sub section 1 the Committee may tender such advice as it may deem fit to the manufacturer of textiles the manufacturer of textile machinery and the applicant
 section 12 provides for levy of fees for inspection and examination and reads as follows 12
The Committee may levy such fees as may be prescribed a for inspection and examination of textiles b for inspection and examination of textile machinery
c for any other services which the Committee may render to the manufacturers of textile and textile machinery Provided that the Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette exempt from the payment of fees generally or in any particular case
Any sum payable to the Committee under sub section
1 may be recovered as an arrear of land revenue The section quoted here is as it stood before its amendment by Act 51 of 1973
section 221 confers on the Central Government power to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Act
In particular section 222e empower he Central Government to make rules providing the scale of fees that may be levied for inspection and examination under section 12
PG NO 894 In exercise of the powers conferred by section 22 the Central Government made the Textiles Committee Rules 1965
A levy of fee was introduced for the first time wef March 1 1965 by virtue of r 21 of the Rules
The Table forming part of r 21 under which the fee was levied was in these terms 21
Fee for inspection examination and other services rendered by the Committee 1 The Committee may with effect from 1st March 1965 levy and collect for inspection and examination of textiles and textile machinery specified in col 2 of the Table below the fee specified in the corresponding entry in col 3 of that Table TABLE Sl
Description of textiles Fee No and textile machinery 1 2 3 1
Cotton cloth where the average 6 paise for every 100 count of yarn used in the cloth square metres manufactu is less than 355 red
Cotton cloth where the average 10 paise for every 100 count of yarn used in the cloth square metres manufa is less than 355
or finer ctured
Woollen yarn 2 paise per kg
manufa ctured
Man made Cellulosic or 2 paise per kg
manuf non cellulosic filament yarn actured
Man made cellulosic fibre cut 2 paise per kg
manuf to staple length actured
Textile machinery 8 paise per Rs 100ad valorem on the ex factory price of the machinery manufact ured
2 The Committee may levy and collect for any other service rendered by it to the manufacturers of textiles and PG NO 895 textile machinery such fee as it may fix with the approval of the Central Government With effect from the 11th June 1966 the Table of Fee was revised to reads as under TABLE Sl
Description of textiles Fee No and textile machinery 1 2 3 1
Cotton cloth where 6 paise for every the average count of metres manufactured
yarn used in the cloth is less than 35 section 2
Cotton cloth where 10 paise for every the average count of square metres manu yarn used in the cloth factured
is 35 or finer
a Woollen yarn 2 paise per kg
manu excluding shoddy factured and carpet yarn b Shoody and carpet 1 paise per kg
manu yarn factured 4
a Man made 2 paise per kg
manu cellulosic or non factured cellulosic filament yarn other than nylon filament yarn bNylon filament yarn 6 paise per kg
manu factured 5
a Man made 1 paise per kg
manu cellulosic fibre cut factured to staple length b Man made non 2 paise per kg
manu Cellulosic fibre factured cut to staple length
Textile machinery 8 paise per Rs 100 assembled ad valorem on the ex factory price of the machinery manu factured PG NO 896 7
Cotton yarn for 2 paise per kg
inspected
export 8
Natural silk yarn 50 paise per Rs100 fob
for fabric for export price of the goods instec ted
It must be stated here that Act No 5173 introduced a new provision section 5A as a result of which a cess has been imposed in place of a fee
Sub section
1 provides that there shall be levied and collected as a cess for the purposes of this Act a duty of excise on all textiles and on all textile machinery manufactured in India at such rate not exceeding 1 ad valorem as the Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette fix
Proviso thereto interdicts that no such cess shall be levied on textiles manufactured from out of handloom or power loom industry
Sub section
2 of section 5A directs that the duty of excise levied under sub section
1 shall be in addition to any cess or duty leviable on textiles or textile machinery under any other law for the time being in force
Another change brought about was to delete cl
b of section 12 and cl
c relettered as cl
b and a proviso were inserted with the word  special  inserted in place of the word other 
The new cl
b so inserted is in these terms b for any special service which the Committee may render to the manufacturers or exporters of textiles and textile machinery Provided that no fees shall be levied in respect of inspection and examination of textiles on which a duty of excise is leviable under this Act  All these cases pertain to the period prior to January 1 1975 ie prior to the enactment of Act 5173
We are here concerned with the validity of the fee as levied under r 21 of the Rules and the question is whether the imposition can be justified as a fee
We have had the benefit of hearing Shri V M Tarkunde learned counsel appearing for the appellant JK Cotton Spg
 Wvg
Mills Co Ltd Shri GL Sanghi learned counsel appearing for the appellant Baroda Rayon Corporation Limited Shri Vinod Bobde learned counsel appearing on behalf of Century Spg  Mfg Co Ltd and Century Enka Limited Shri NK Khaitan learned counsel appearing for Sirsilk Limited Dr Dhananjaya Chandrachud learned counsel appearing for Nirlon Synthetics Fibres and Chemicals Ltd and Garware Nylons Ltd and Shri Krishna Kumar learned PG NO 897 counsel for Modipon Limited
The learned counsel presented their respective points of view with much resource and learning
On behalf of the appellants and the petitioners the learned counsel put forth in substance two main contentions namely 1 That rayon yarn and nylon yarn manufactured by the writ petitioners before the High Court ie appellants and the petitioners before us are made wholly of filaments and not at all of fibres and therefore are not textiles within the meaning of the definition of textiles  as contained in section 2g of the Act accordingly are outside the purview of the Act and not liable to payment of any fee in accordance with r 21 of the Rules as originally framed or as it existed after its amendment wef June 11 1966
And 2 That the Textiles Committee rendered no service to the writ petitioners in respect of their production of rayon yarn and nylon yarn and hence it was not within its competence to levy any fee on them under r 21 of the Rules
According to the writ petitioners in fact they do not need the services of the Committee and the Committee is also not in a position to render any service to them not having even laid down standard specifications for the manufacture of rayon yarn or nylon yarn
It was submitted that there was no correlation between the fee charged and the service rendered by the Committee and there is complete absence of the element of quid pro quo legally essential for levying a fee
Shri G Ramaswamy learned Additional Solicitor General on the other hand during his lucid and forceful submissions repelled the arguments
He submitted that the levy under r 21 of the Rules was not correlated to the power of inspection which the Textiles Committee had under section 11 of the Act but was relatable to its power to levy fees under section 12 for the performance of its functions powers and duties under section 4
He contended that the avowed object and purpose of the Act as is clear from section 3 was quality control  of all textiles and it would be idle to contend that rayon yarn and nylon yarn which are but species of what is known as man made fibres otherwise called artificial silk and has a world market should be outside the purview of the Act
He cautioned that we have to bear in mind that the Act is not a scientific treatise on organic and inorganic chemistry but is an Act by Parliament for the benefit of the indigenous textile industry so that it may be able to hold its own in a fiercely competitive international market
He therefore contends that the Act and the words used therein have to be interpreted not on a technological or specialised scientific plane but in a popular sense as understood by experts in the sphere of the textile industry the commercial world dealing with it
The learned Additional PG NO 898 Solicitor General questioned the correctness of the decision rendered by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in The Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing Wvg Co Ltd Birlagram Ujjain vs The Textiles Committee Bombay  Anr as also its interpretation of the definition of textiles  in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment by Act No 5173 as not including viscose staple fibre
According to him the whole approach of the High Court in Gwalior Rayon s case in adopting a literal construction of the definition of textiles  in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment was totally unsupportable
A literal construction of the definition of textiles  in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment it is said would lead to a manifest absurdity
If that view of the Madhya Pradesh High Court were to prevail it is urged that the whole purpose and object of the Act would be frustrated
The definition of textiles in section 2g prior to its amendment must be given a broad and liberal construction in furtherance of the object and purpose of the Act
The learned Additional Solicitor General also placed before us a wealth of material showing that a huge infra structure has been built by the Central Government over the years and it has invested crores of rupees to make the establishment of the Textiles Committee under section 3 of the Act meaningful with a view to maintain quality control on all textiles including man made fibres or artificial silk which have a world market
Finally the learned Additional Solicitor General strongly relied upon the decision of this Court in Sreeniwasa General Traders  Ors
vs State of Andhra Pradesh  Ors
  for the submission that the validity of the levy has to be sustained as there is broad co relationship between the imposition of the fee and the nature of the services rendered to the entire textile industry
We shall deal with the contentions advanced by learned counsel for the appellants and the petitioners in seriatim
As to the first contention that the rayon yarn and nylon yarn manufactured by the appellants and the petitioners were filaments and not fibres and therefore did not fall within the ambit of the definition of textiles in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment Shri khaitan whofirst argued the case of Sirsilk Limited and more particularly Shri Tarkunde appearing on behalf of JK Cotton Spg  Wvg
Mills Co Ltd followed by Shri Krishna Kumar appearing for Modipon Limited placed strong reliance on scientific and technological material explaining the manufacturing process of rayon yarn and nylon yarn to contradistinguish the same from fibres
The learned Additional Solicitor General rightly drew our attention to the averments made in paragraph 1 of the writ petitions before the High Court in which each of the appellants and the petitioners has specifically averred that they are manufacturers of rayon PG NO 899 and submitted that they cannot be heard to say that the product manufactured by them was not rayon made of artificial silk or fibre
The contention of the learned Additional Solicitor General must prevail
The averments in paragraph 1 of the writ petitions are more or less the same
We need only reproduce paragraph 1 of the writ petition filed by Messrs Sirsilk Limited and it reads The petitioners are a Limited Company incorporated under the Indian and are having their Registered office at Himayatnagar Hyderabad 29
The Petitioners inter alia carry on the business of manufacture of rayon yarn and staple fibre both of which form species of what is popularly known as man made yarn
For the purpose of manufacturing the aforesaid yarns the petitioners have established their factory at Sirpur Kagaznagar
 To the same effect are the averments made in the writ petitions filed by the appellants Ms JK Cotton Spinning  Weaving Co Ltd Ms Baroda Rayon Corporation Ltd and Ms Modipon Ltd as well as by the petitioners Ms Century Spinning  Manufacturing Co Ltd Century Enka Ltd Ms Nirlon Synthetic Fibres  Chemicals Ltd and Ms Garware Nylons Ltd On their own showing the appellants as well as the petitioners are actually engaged in the manufacture of rayon yarn and nylon yarn both of which they aver are species of what is known as man made fibres 
In view of this undisputed factual position the contention that rayon yarn and nylon yarn manufactured by them are filaments  and not fibre  or that they are not yarn  and therefore do not fall within the definition of textiles under section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment cannot be countenanced
The main thrust of the argument of learned counsel for the appellants and the petitioners that rayon yarn and nylon yarn manufactured by the appellants and the petitioners are not fibres but filaments stems from the decision of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in The Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing Wvg Co Ltd Birlagram Ujjain vs The Textile Committee Bombay supra
In the decision the Madhya Pradesh High Court assumes that a fibre in order to answer the description of yarn in the ordinary commercial sense must be a spun strand meant for use in weaving knitting or rope making
It proceeds upon the basis that although viscose staple fibre was manufactured out of fibre but it had to be subjected to various other operations such PG NO 900 as blending carding combing or hackling and spinning before fibre could be converted into yarn
Upon that basis the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that viscose staple fibre manufactured by the Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing Wvg Co Ltd was made wholly of filaments and therefore was not fibre and hence was not yarn and accordingly did not fall within the meaning of the expression textiles as defined in section 2g of the Act
We are afraid we cannot accept this line of reasoning
The Madhya Pradesh High Court was clearly wrong in giving to the expression textiles  in section 2g of the Act a narrow and restricted meaning
The reasoning of the Madhya Pradesh High Court is best stated in the words of GP Singh CJ
speaking for himself and CP Sen J According to this definition textiles meant any fabric or cloth or yarn made wholly or in part of cotton or wool or silk or artificial silk or other fibre
The use of the word means  in the definition gives rise to the inference of its being restrictive and exhaustive
Further it is clear that what was embraced by the definition before 1st January 1975 was any fabric or cloth or yarn and not any fibre
The definition made a distinction between yarn and fibre
The same distinction appears in Section 2f in the definition of textile machinery  which expression is defined to mean the equipment employed for the processing of textile fibre into yarn  
The Act does not contain any definition of yarn  and hence it has to be understood in its ordinary sense to mean any fibre or wool silk flax cotton nylon etc
spun into strands for weaving knitting or making thread
Webster s New World Dictionary
 The learned Chief Justice then added A fibre in order to answer the description of yarn  in the ordinary commercial sense must be a spun strand meant for use in weaving knitting or rope making Commr
of Sales Tax UP vs Sarin Textile Mills  at p 1263
It is true that yarn is manufactured out of fibre but various operations such as blending carding combing or hackling and spinning have to be performed for converting fibre into  yarn See the New Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th Edition Vol 18 p 173 PG NO 901 There was no explicable reason for the legislature to have excluded rayon yarn and nylon yarn from the purview of the definition of textiles in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment
The expression textiles  has been defined in section 2g of the Act in a way as to include not only yarn but also man made fibres or artificial silk
In the premises the expression textiles  as defined in section 2g of the Act has to be given a broad and liberal construction in furtherance of the purpose and object of the Act
The Madhya Pradesh High Court was clearly in error in construing the expression textiles  as defined in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment in a narrow and restricted sense
The particular words used by the legislature ie the terms yarn man made fibres otherwise known as artificial silk  had to be understood according to the common commercial understanding of the terms used and not in their scientific or technical sense
The High Court failed to bear in mind that the Act is not a scientific treatise on organic or inorganic chemistry but is an enactment by the Parliament for the benefit of the indigenous textile industry so that it may be able to hold its own in a fiercely competitive international market
In these circumstances the Act and the words used therein have to be interpreted not on a technological or specialised scientific plane but in the popular sense as understood by experts in the sphere of the textile industry and the commercial world dealing with it
We find no discernible reason for Parliament to have left out man made fibres like viscose staple fit re
rayon yarn and nylon yarn from the purview of the definition of textiles in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment particularly when synthetic fibres have a world market and India has entered into competitive international trade in all textiles in a large way
We were referred to several Encyclopaedias authoritative treatises text books and hand books viz Encyclopaedia Britannica both Micropaedia and the 15th Edn Textile Terms and Definitions  5th Edn
published by the Textile Institute Manchester in 1963 1968 Book of American Society for Testing and Materials Part 24 Mercury Dictionary of Textile Terms Standard Handbook of Textiles by AJ Hall Handbook of Textile Fibres 4th Edn
by J Gordon Cook Manmade Fibres by Mark Atlas and Cernia Vol 2 Textile Fibres by Mathews 6th Edn
and Survey of Man made Fibre Industry by Dr AS Kapur
These Encyclopaedias and technological books contain a wealth of information collected by knowledgeable and distinguished men who have acquired distinction in their own spheres of academic and are made use of not only by our own Courts but by Courts of PG NO 902 other countries where English language is in vogue
The words fibre  and filament  are not defined either in the Act or the Rules thereunder
The meaning assigned to fibre  in Webster s New Twentieth Century Dictionary of English Language 2nd Edn
is a filament and thread like part of a substance as a filament of spun glass wool or hornblende
Even a filament  according to this Dictionary consequently constitutes fibre 
Artificial silk  according to the Oxford Concise Dictionary 6th Edn 1976 means rayon
In Encyclopaedia Britannica 14th Edn
Vol 7 p 257 under the heading Fibres Man made  the following passage occurs Man made fibre consists of two broad grounds based upon the origin of the fibre forming substance
The first group of which rayon and acedate are examples are produced by modifying natural fibre forming materials such as cellulose
The second group frequently called synthetics and including such fibres as nylon and polyester are produced from synthetic chemicals    Again there occurs a passage at p 260 of the same volume in the following terms In man made fibres the importance of rayon is similar to that of cotton among the natural fibres
 Under the heading Synthetic fibres sub heading Polyamide fibres   at p 263 it is stated Polyamides are polymers or chain like structure of linked molecular units containing recurring amide groups as integral parts of the main polymer chains
Synthetic polyamide fibres form nylon a major textile fibre
 In Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 18 under the heading Development of the textile industry sub heading production of yarn  at p 172 we notice the following passage Yarn is a strand composed of fibres filaments individual fibres of extreme length or other materials either natural or man made suitable for use in the construction of interlaced fabrics
such as woven or knitted types
 PG NO 903 This passage again indicates that in the textile industry filaments  are treated as individual fibres of extreme length
Similarly in Chamber s Encyclopaedia Vol 5 at p 613 the term fibre  is explained thus Fibre a term used for a thread like element of animal or vegetable tissue  and any thread or filament used in the manufacture of textile materials
The range of fibres used for making fabrics was restricted to naturally occurring substances until the introduction of man made fibres
These include regenerated fibres such as those made from cellulose and truly synthetic fibres such as nylon Terylene and Courtelle
 At p 616 of the same volume under the heading Artificial Fibres it is stated Artificial fibres can be divided into two main groups regenerated and synthetic
In the first class a further sub division can be made between fibres made from regenerated cellulose ie viscose acetate and cuprammonium protein such as Fibrolane
Fibres in the second class are strictly synthetic in the sense that they are built up from simple chemical compounds into the complex molecular structure required
They are classified according to their chemical composition polyamides nylon and perlorn  
In Encyclopaedia Britannica Micropaedia Vol
VIII at P 442 under the heading rayon  the following passage occurs Rayon generic term for man made textile fibre produced from the plant substance cellulose
Developed in an attempt to produce silk chemically the fibre was originally known by such terms as artificial silk and wood silk but in 1924 it was given the coined name rayon
Anitrocellulose type first produced commercially in France in 1891 in the form of a nitrocellulose fibre it was later discontinued because of its high flammability
Rayon is described as a re generated fibre because the cellulose is converted to a liquid compound and then back to cellulose in the form of fibre
The cellulose obtained from soft woods or from the short fibres adhering to cotton seeds linters is chemically PG NO 904 treated to form a solution that is forced through tiny holes in a nozzle spinnerets
This process of forcing a solution through spinneret holes is called spinning the same term is applied to the production of yarn by twisting together fibres that may be of natural man made origin
Emerging in the form of filament a fibre of great length the rayon is hardened by drying in air or by chemical means
The filament is sometimes out into shorter pieces having uniform length called staple and twisted together to make yarn
Emphasis supplied The passages quoted above clearly show that even in the sphere of textile technology distinction between fibre  and filament  has reached a vanishing point
They further show that both nylon and rayon are artificial silk  yarn in contra distinction to genuine silk
We accordingly uphold the view expressed by the High Courts of Allahabad Andhra Pradesh Gujarat and Madras and hold that rayon and nylon yarn are not only made of other fibre  but are also yarn of artificial silk  within the meaning of section 2g of the Act
The view to the contrary by the Madhya Pradesh High Court does not lay down correct law
Other considerations lead us to the same conclusion
The Industries Development and Regulation Act 1951 enacted by Parliament received the assent of the President on October 31 1951
In the Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Bill which became the Act
it is stated The Bill brings under Central control the development and regulation of a number of important industries the activities of which affect the country as a whole and the development of which must be governed by economic factors of all India import 
The Bill confers on Government power to make rules for the registration of existing undertakings for regulating the production and development of the industries in the Schedule and for consultation with Provincial Governments on these matters
 The First Schedule of this Act sets out the various industries which it declared that it was expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its control
7 of Item No 19 which bears the heading Chemicals other than Fertilisers is man made fibres including regenerated cellulose rayon nylon and the like Cl
5 of Item No 23 which bears the heading Textiles including those dyed printed or otherwise processed is made wholly or in part of synthetic artificial man made PG NO 905 fibres including yarn and hosiery of such fibres This Parliamentary Act thus treats rayon as well as nylon as textiles made of artificial man made fibres
The Industries Development and Regulation Act 1951 and the  with which we are concerned may properly be considered to be statutes in pari materia
According to Sutherland Statutes are considered to be in pari materia to pertain to the same subject matter when they relate to the same person or things or to the same class of persons or thing or have the same purpose or object Statutes and Statutory Construction Vol 2 p 535 3rd Edn  The object of either of these two Acts is to protect and to assist in the development of Textile Industry inter alia
Assistance in ascertaining the meaning of an enactment may be obtained by comparing is language with that used in earlier statutes relating to the same subject Craies on Statute Law P 140 1971 Edn Maxwell also in The Interpretation of Statutes  1976 Edn
p 66 states that light may be thrown on the meaning of a phrase in a statute by reference to a specific phrase in an earlier statute dealing with the same subject matter
 The Industries Development and Regulation Act 1951 is an Act earlier in point of time and we see no reason why if a subsequent statute by the same Legislature can be pressed in aid for the purpose of interpretating in the event of any doubt the provisions of an earlier statute the earlier statute cannot be made use of for the purpose of construing in the event of ambiguity the provisions of a later statute
For all these reasons the contention that rayon yarn and nylon yarn manufactured by the appellants and the petitioners are made wholly of filaments and not of fibres and therefore did not come within the purview of textiles as defined in section 2g of the Act prior to its amendment and therefore they were not liable for payment of the fee levied under r 21 of the Rules cannot prevail
The various activities undertaken by the Textiles Committee for the development of the textile industry and the promotion of textile exports which have expanded considerably and the duties entrusted to the Committee to ensure the quality of all textiles whether made wholly or partly of cotton wool silk artificial fibre or silk particularly when Indian Textiles by and large and artificial silk or man made fibres like rayon yarn viscose staple fibres and nylon yarn as well as fabrics made of artificial silk are facing ever increasing competition in PG NO 906 the international market from other exporting countries like Japan China etc
and the production and export of textiles having substantially increased the legislature thought it necessary to make adequate provision and accordingly created a Textiles Fund under section 7 of the Act to meet the expenditure of the Textiles Committee which necessarily has to be on a larger scale
At the time when the Textiles Committee was established under section 3 the legislature accordingly provided for the establishment of a Textiles Fund constituted under section 7 of the Act from out of which the expenditure of the Committee has to be defrayed
Sub section
 1 of section 7 provides that the Committee shall have a Fund to be called the Textiles Fund and there shall be credited thereto various items specified in cls
a to d apart from all the moneys standing to the credit of the Cotton Textiles Fund established under the repealed Ordinance immediately before the date on which the Textiles Committee came to be established which by virtue of section 242a stood transferred to and formed part of the Textiles Fund and such sums of money as the Central Government after due appropriation made by Parliament in that behalf pays to the Committee in each financial year by way of grant loan or otherwise for purposes of enabling the Committee to discharge its functions under the Act
There are only two other sources of income
One of the main sources of revenue as indicated in cl
c is the income derived from the levy of the fee under r 21 of the Rules and the other that indicated in cl
d viz all moneys received by the Committee by way of grant gift donation contribution transfer or otherwise
After the imposition of the duty of excise as a cess by section 5A of the Act introduced by Act No 5173 the income derived from such cess becomes another source
Sub section
2 of section 7 provides that the moneys in the Fund shall be applied for a meeting the pay and allowances of the officers and other employees of the Committee and administrative expenses of the Committee and b carrying out the purposes of the Act
Sub section
3 of section 7 provides that all moneys in the Fund shall be deposited in the State Bank of India or be invested in such securities as may be approved by the Central Government
From these provisions it is amply clear that all the income derived from the levy of the fee under r 21 of the Rules has to be credited to the Textiles Fund and the said income is utilised in defraying the expenditure of the Textiles Committee in carrying on its manifold duties
No part of the fee levied under r 21 goes into the Consolidated Fund of India
It is only by section 5F introduced by Act No 5173 which provides that proceeds of the duty of excise collected under section 5A reduced by the cost of collection as determined by the Central Government shall PG NO 907 first be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and the Central Government may after due appropriation made by Parliament by law pay to the Committee from out of such proceeds such sums of money as it thinks fit for being utilised for the purposes of the Act
We are not here concerned with the duty of excise recovered as a cess under section 5A but only with the question whether levy of the fee under r 21 is sustainable as a fee
That is to say whether there is sufficient quid pro quo between the levy of the fee and the services rendered
It has not been suggested that any part of the fees levied under r 21 can be diverted to any other purpose
When the entire proceeds of the fee are utilised in financing the various projects undertaken by the Textiles Committee as also the inspection of all textiles including man made fibres and textile machinery the appellants cannot be heard to say that there is no reasonable and sufficient correlation between the levy of the fee and the services rendered
The learned Additional Solicitor General drew our attention to the various averments made in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Textiles Committee as well as the Government of India showing the extent of income from the fee levied under r 21 and the expenditure of Textiles Committee in each financial year
From the material on record it is amply clear that the levy of the fee under r 21 is not commensurate with the expenditure incurred by the Textile Committee
It is not in dispute that the Textiles Committee has over the years built up a huge infrastructure and the Central Government has spent crores of rupees to make the legislation effective and meaningful and to bring about an overall improvement in the quality and standard of the textiles including man made fibres or artificial silk so that our country may continue to retain its rightful place in the world market in a fiercely competitive international trade
For a proper appreciation of the point involved it is necessary to set down the activities of the Committee in discharge of its functions conferred upon it by section 4 of the Act
The Committee with a view to maintaining and stepping up the export of Indian Textiles has introduced a number of pre shipment inspection schemes covering a wide range of textiles to ensure that only quality textiles and yarns are exported from India
Inspection and certification of Art Silk and Wollen Textiles have also been undertaken by the Committee in pursuance of various Export Incentive Schemes introduced by the Government from time to time
The Committee has set up an Inspectorate with a large technical staff qualified in the various disciplines of textile technology
The Inspectorate has carried out inspection of various types of textiles large quantities
Inspection of mill made cotton cloth and mill made cloth yarn has been PG NO 908 made compulsory and export thereof without a certificate issued by the Committee has been banned
In order to carry out the inspection as expeditiously and smoothly as possible the Committee besides its head office at Bombay has established its regional offices at fourteen different textile centres namely at Ahmedabad Amritsar Bangalore Calcutta Coimbatore Indore Kanpur Ludhiana Madras Madurai Nagpur New Delhi Sholapur and Surat
Besides these wherever necessary the Committee staff are also attached to the textile mills at other places to render immediate service to the mills and exporters on the spot
The learned Additional Solicitor General placed before us the counter affidavit of Shri CG Shivdasani Acting Secretary of the Textiles Committee
It is averred under the heading Inspection  that for ensuring standard qualities of textiles and to satisfy that they have the characteristics necessary for satisfactory performance necessary tests such as identification of fibres fibre composition fibre finances shrinkage chemical degradation resistance to milldew and fungus etc
are carried out quite often by the Committee
A statement showing the income and expenditure of the Textiles Committee for the period commencing from March l 1965 and ending with March 31 1971 as well as the estimated budget for the years 1971 72 to 1973 74 are set out to verify the ratio between the fee collected and the expenditure incurred for achieving the object and purpose of the Act
The statements are as detailed below EXPENDITURE AND FEES REALISED DURING THE PERIOD FROM 131965 T O 31371 Accounting Revenue Capital Market Fees Year Expenditure Expenditure Research Realised on Inspectorate
on Inspectorate
March 1965 0089 lakhs lakhs 008 lakhs lakhs 1965 66 1771 064  200 2190 1966 67 2305 128 232 4400 1967 68 2429 091 205 3038 1968 69 2473 060 266 3479 1969 70 2895 187 382 3239 1970 71 3462 314 455 2979 Total 15424 844 1748 19325 PG NO 909 STATEMENT SHOWING THE ESTIMATED REVENUE AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE FOR THE YEARS 1971 72 TO 1973 74 Year Estimated Revenue Capital Expenditure Estimated Expenditure on on Inspectorate Fees Inspectorate
Realisable 1971 72RE 3735 lakhs 2266 lakhs 5335 lakhs 1972 73BE 4378 1993 5376 1973 74 5200 3000 5500 Total 13313  7259 16211 Under the heading Collection of Fees  the necessary averments are there showing that the entire amount of fees levied and collected under r 21 of the Rules is utilised in meeting the expenses of the Committee on account of pay and allowances of the officers and other employees of the Committee and for carrying out the purposes of the Act
The following is the table showing the fees realisable fees actually realised and the total expenditure of the Inspectorate during the period from April 1 1965 to March 31 1971 Period Fees Fees Total Expenditure on the Realisable Realised Inspectorate in lakhs 1365 to 31371 Rs29051 Rs19325 Revenue Rs15424 Capital Rs844 Total Rs16268 Actuals 1471 to 31372 Rs5335 Rs3103 Revenue Rs3735 Capital Rs2266 Total Rs6061 Revised Estimate 1472 to 31372 Rs 5376 Rs3100 Revenue Rs4373 Estimated Capital Rs1993 Total Rs6371 Budget Estimates Total Rs39762 Rs25528 Rs28640 PG NO 910 On these facts there is no doubt whatever that the entire proceeds of the amount collected by way of fee under r 21 of the Rules are spent in carrying on the functions of the Textiles Committee
It cannot be doubted that the activities of the Committee in furtherance of the object and purpose of the Act are to ensure the quality of all textiles whether made wholly or partly of cotton wool silk artificial fibre or silk
The functions of the Committee should generally be to ensure standard qualities of textiles for internal as well as external marketing and manufacture and use of standard type of textile machinery
The grievance of the appellants and the petitioners that there is no inspection of the rayon yarn and nylon yarn manufactured by them at the stage of production is belied by the fact that there is pre shipment inspection of the fabrics manufactured from such fibres for export
The provision for the levy of fees for inspection and examination of textiles under section 121a of the Act or the levy of the fee under r 21 of the Rules cannot be challenged on the ground that there is no reasonable relationship between the levy of the fee and the services rendered by the Committee to the entire textile industry to which the appellants and the petitioners before us owning large textile mills belong
When the levy of the fee is for the benefit of the entire textile industry there is sufficient quid pro quo between the levy recovered from the appellants and the petitioners and the services rendered to the industry as a whole
In the premises the principles laid down by this Court in Sreeniwasa General Traders are clearly attracted
One of us Sen J speaking for the Court had observed The traditional view that there must be actual quid pro quo for a fee has undergone a sea change in the subsequent decisions
The distinction between a tax and a fee lies primarily in the fact that a tax is levied as part of a common burden while a fee is for payment of a specific benefit or privilege although the special advantage is secondary to the primary motive of regulation in public interest
If the element of revenue for general purpose of the State predominates the levy becomes a tax
In regard to fees there is and must always be correlation between the fee collected and the service intended to be rendered
In determining whether a livy is a fee the true test must be whether its primary and essential purpose is to render specific services to a specified area or class it may be of no consequence that the State may ultimately and indirectly be benefitted by it
The power of any legislature to levy a fee is conditioned by the fact that it must be by and large PG NO 911 a quid pro quo for the services rendered
However correlationship between the levy and the services rendered or expected is one of general character and not of mathematical exactitude
All that is necessary is that there should be a reasonable relationship between the levy of the fee and the services rendered
If authority is needed for this proposition it is to be found in the several decisions of this Court drawing a distinction between a tax  and a fee 
See The Commissioner Hindu Religious Edowments Madras vs Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt   HH Sudhundra Thirtha Swamiar vs Commissioner for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Mysore 1963 Suppl
2 SCR 302 The Hingir Rampur Coal Co Ltd vs State of Orissa   HH Shri Swamiji of Shri Admar Mutt vs Commissioner Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department   South Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals Trichur vs State of Kerala  and Municipal Corporation of Delhi vs Mohd Yasin l963 2 SCR 999
There is no generic difference between a tax and a free
Both are compulsory exactions of money by public authorities
Compulsion lies in the fact that payment is enforceable by law against a person in spite of his unwillingness or want of consent
A levy in the nature of a fee does not cease to he of that character merely because there is an element of compulsion or coerciveness present in it
nor is it a postulate of a fee that it must have direct relation to the actual service rendered by the authority to each individual who obtains the benefit of the service
It is now increasingly realised that merely because the collections for the services rendered or grant of a privilege or licence are taken to the consolidated fund of the State and not separately appropriated towards the expenditure for rendering the service is not by itself decisive
Presumably the attention of the Court in the Shirur Mutt case was not drawn to Article 226 of the Constitution
The Constitution nowhere contemplates it to be an essential element of fee that it should be credited to a separate fund and not to the consolidated fund
It is also increasingly realised that the element of quid pro quo in the strict sense is not always a sine qua non for a fee
It is needless to stress that the element of quid pro quo is not necessarily absent in every tax
 PG NO 912 See also Ms Amar Nath Om Prakash  Ors
vs State of Punjab  Ors
   City Corporation of Calicut vs Thachambalath Sadalinan  Ors  ITC Ltd  Ors
vs State of Karnataka  Ors per Fazal Ali  Mukharji JJ  1985 SUPP1
SCR 476 and Om Parkash Agarwal  Ors
vs Giri Raj Kishori  Ors  Viewed from this perspective the conclusion is inevitable that the levy of the fee under r 21 of the Textiles Committee Rules 1965 by the Textiles Committee under sub section
1 of section 12 of the is valid and constitutionally permissible
All the appeals and connected writ petitions filed by the textile mills in India must fail and are dismissed with costs
Civil appeal No 1281 of 1973 preferred by the Textile Committee Bombay against the judgment and order of the Kerala High Court dated March 3 1979 is however allowed and the writ petition filed by the respondent Ms Travancore Rayons Limited is dismissed with costs


Summary:
The applicants filed a contempt petition under Contempt of Courts Act against the respondents some high officers of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the lessees respondent Nos 13 and 14 who were given contract for construction alleging that they were guilty of contempt in that they had constructed the underground market in breach of the terms and conditions laid down by this Court in its order dated 18th August 19X7
The applicants submitted that the officers had permitted the lessees to construct an underground air conditioned market at Satyanarayan Park and that they had connived and acquiesced in permitting the lessees to construct four pucca structures of 15 feet in height above the road level partly convering the surface of the park and covering a major portion of the surface of the Park
They also alleged that the construction of the four storeyed quarters service block were also in violation of the conditions
The respondents controverted these facts
The matter was referred to the Single Judge of the High Court who had earlier heard the matter and whose decision had been confirmed by a Division Bench of the High Court and by this Court to hold an enquiry as to whether there was a violation of the judgment and order passed by him The Learned Single Judge personally visited the site and heard the parties
He submitted his report containing his visual impressions and holding that there was no violation of any directions given by him in his judgment and the question of committing any contempt of the judgment does not and cannot arise He left the question open for this Court to determine whether there was any derivation from the conditions set forth by the Division Bench order and by this Court PG NO 1017 PG NO 1018 Rejecting the contentions of the applicants aggreeing with the findings and reasoning of the Single Judge and dismissing the contempt application this Court HELD There can be no doubt whatever that there is no breach either of the conditions laid down by this Court or the Division Bench of the High Court
The construction of the so called lofty structures over the staircase leading to the underground market which we may call bunkers as well as of the four storeyed building were in the architect s plan and were expressly permitted in the licence and formed part of the sanctioned plan
It was therefore present In the mind of all concerned including the Chief Municipal Architect and Town Planner as also of the Administrator of the Municipal Corporation while planning the costruction of the underground air conditioned market that these structures would be built up
As already stated the construction of the bunkers over the three staircases was a matter of absolute necessity to make the central air conditioning plant fully functional
As regards the four storeyed structure the construction thereof does not constitute a breach of the conditions laid down
It has already been stated that the four storeyed structure is built to provide residential quarters to the staff and actually now it occupies much lesser space than before
In the premises the allegation made by the applicants that the aforesaid structures cover a substantial portion of the surface of the park which cannot now be turned into a terrace garden with a lush green lawn is fully unfounded
1024G H 1025A C The Court cannot but deprecate the attempts made by the applicants to move the High Court as well as this Court time and again on one pretext or another in a frantic effort to prevent the construction of the underground air conditioned market at Satyanarayan Park which is a part of the beautification scheme of the great Metropolitan City of Calcutta by the State Government of West Bengal where a party in opposition is in power to provide civic amenities to the citizens It is fortunate that these attempts have been frustrated and what was conceived of a development scheme has come to a reality
1025E G