Mukesh Kumar Aggarwal & Ors vs State Of Madhya Pradesh & Ors on 18 December, 1987
Mr.Sonpal, therefore, submitted that applying this test where a
word has a scientific or technical meaning and also an ordinary
meaning then the ordinary meaning must be given consideration
while deciding the classification under the Sales Tax Laws.
21 Mr.Sonpal further submitted that the Applicant has laid
much stress on scientific definitions of the words and the expert
opinion. According to him, under the Sales Tax laws the common
man's view has to be preferred but there is no bar to refer to
technical or scientific character and in large number of cases the
dictionary meaning or technical literature were considered by the
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Courts while interpreting the schedule entries. But in all those cases
before applying this test the Court held that while construing the
word which was of technical or scientific character, its scientific or
technical meaning required to be assigned. The steam is not a word
of scientific or technical character, but commonly understood as a
steam. He further submitted that in the Sales Tax Laws, the words
which are not of technical expressions or words of art, but are
words of everyday use, must be understood and given a meaning,
not in their technical or scientific sense, but in a sense as
understood in common parlance. The particular terms used by the
legislature in the determination of articles are to be understood
according to the common commercial understanding of those terms
used and not in their scientific and technical sense. For this
purpose, Mr.Sonpal relied on the judgment in case of Mukesh
Kumar Aggarwal & Company Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh &
others, 1988(68) STC 324.