Municipal toll tax must stay within statutory limits; writ relief remains available despite an alternative remedy in public interest challenges.

An alternative remedy by suit does not automatically bar writ relief under Article 226 where the challenge raises a public question, and nondisclosure of a pending suit is not material unless it goes to the root of the claim. A municipal toll may be levied only within the statutory territorial scope authorised by the governing enactment, and Section 128(1)(vii) was read as permitting toll on vehicles entering the municipality for use of municipal roads, not on vehicles leaving its limits. The levy was therefore invalid to that extent. The Article 14 challenge failed because the impost was treated as a tax on vehicles using municipal roads, not as a passenger tax.

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Issues: (i) Whether the writ petitions were not maintainable because an alternative remedy by way of suit was available or had already been pursued, and whether alleged suppression of material facts barred relief under Article 226 of the Constitution of India; (ii) Whether the Municipal Board could lawfully levy toll tax on motor vehicles leaving the limits of the Hardwar Union Municipality, and whether the impugned levy was invalid under the statutory provisions and Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Issue (i): Whether the writ petitions were not maintainable because an alternative remedy by way of suit was available or had already been pursued, and whether alleged suppression of material facts barred relief under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The availability of an alternative remedy was held not to be an absolute bar to the exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The existence of a suit for injunction did not by itself make the writ petitions inadmissible, particularly where the levy challenged affected a general class of persons and raised a public question. The omission to mention the pending suit was not treated as suppression of a material fact, because it did not go to the root of the relief claimed. Likewise, the reference to railway passengers paying pilgrim tax was not regarded as material suppression affecting maintainability.

Conclusion: The preliminary objections failed, and the writ petitions were maintainable.

Issue (ii): Whether the Municipal Board could lawfully levy toll tax on motor vehicles leaving the limits of the Hardwar Union Municipality, and whether the impugned levy was invalid under the statutory provisions and Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The statutory power under Section 128(1)(vii) of the United Provinces Municipalities Act, 1916 was construed as authorising toll on vehicles entering the municipality for use of municipal roads, not on vehicles leaving its limits. The earlier notification was also examined against the enabling power under Section 128(1)(xiv) of the United Provinces Municipalities Act, 1916 and the corresponding provincial legislative competence under the Government of India Act, 1935. On the constitutional challenge, the levy was not treated as a tax on passengers but as a tax on vehicles using municipal roads, and therefore the fact that railway passengers were not similarly taxed did not establish hostile discrimination under Article 14.

Conclusion: The levy was invalid only to the extent that it purported to charge toll tax on vehicles leaving the municipal limits, but the challenge based on Article 14 failed.

Final Conclusion: The petitions succeeded only in part: the objections to maintainability were rejected, the constitutional challenge was negatived, and relief was granted against collection of toll tax on vehicles when leaving the municipal limits.

Ratio Decidendi: A municipal toll under the governing statute may be levied only within the statutory territorial scope authorised by the enactment, and the existence of an alternative remedy does not bar writ relief where the challenge raises a public question and the alleged nondisclosure is not material to the claim.

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