Pre-deposit conditions on statutory appeals upheld as a valid regulation of appellate remedy and not arbitrary

A statutory right of appeal may be conditioned on pre-deposit of the undisputed tax and part of the disputed tax, because the legislature can regulate how an appellate remedy is exercised. The provision was not found arbitrary or violative of Article 14 since it did not abolish the appeal, and no material showed that the condition was so onerous as to make the remedy illusory, nugatory, or confiscatory. The absence of a waiver provision, on the facts pleaded, did not by itself invalidate the requirement, and the challenge to Section 12(3) therefore failed.

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Issues: (i) Whether the requirement under Section 12(3) of the U.P. Entertainment and Betting Tax Act, 1979, that an appellant must deposit the undisputed tax and one-third of the disputed tax before an appeal is entertained, is arbitrary or violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The right of appeal is not inherent but a statutory creation, and the legislature is competent to attach conditions to its exercise. The impugned provision does not take away the appellate remedy; it regulates its availability by requiring part-payment of the assessed tax. The Court applied the settled principle that a pre-deposit condition is not unconstitutional merely because it places a burden on the appellant, especially where no material is shown to demonstrate that the condition is so onerous as to make the remedy illusory, nugatory, or confiscatory. The absence of any waiver provision did not, on the facts pleaded, render the provision arbitrary.

Conclusion: The challenge to the validity of Section 12(3) failed and the provision was upheld as not violative of Article 14.

Final Conclusion: The petitions were rejected on merits, with only incidental directions permitting compliance with the pre-deposit requirement so that the appeals could be heard in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory right of appeal may validly be made subject to a pre-deposit requirement, and such a condition is constitutional unless it is shown to be so oppressive as to extinguish or effectively deny the appellate remedy.

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