Ujagar Prints Etc vs Union Of India & Ors. Etc on 4 November, 1988
In Ujagar
Prints vs Union of India,50 the Supreme Court observed that the
entries in the legislative Lists must receive a liberal construction
inspired by a broad and generous spirit and not in a narrow and
pedantic manner. This is because the Entries are not sources of
legislative power but are merely topics or fields of legislation.
Wherever the question of legislative competence is raised, the test is
whether the legislation, looked at as a whole, is substantially 'with
respect to' the particular topic of legislation. In order to understand
the particular topic of legislation, it is necessary to look at the
purpose of levy of stamp duty in the MSA on one hand and
imposition of customs duty provided in the Customs Act, on the
other. The object of the MSA is to collect proper stamp duty on an
instrument or conveyance on which such stamp duty is payable. It is
simply a fiscal measure enacted to secure revenue for the State on
certain types of instruments.