1959 (8) TMI 41

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....ld have been allowed in full as claimed by him, or the deduction of 15 per cent, made against the claim as representing on a rough estimate of the sales of such periodicals was correct and should be upheld. The decision would turn on the interpretation whether publications of the nature mentioned above, are "newspapers" within the meaning of Article 269(1)(f) and item 92 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Under the aforementioned provisions of the Constitution of India, sales tax on the sale or purchase of newspapers is not leviable by State Governments. 3.. The expression "newspaper" has not been defined in the Constitution of India. The expression "newspaper" has been defined in the Press and Registration of Books Act,....

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....lsory to send newspapers by the inland post." The Post and Telegraph Guide incorporates the provisions of the "Act " under the heading "Registered Newspaper" and makes provision for the procedure for making such registration. Central Act XXVIII of 1951, known as "The Tax on Newspapers (Sales and Advertisements) Repeal Act, 1951", was passed for the purpose of repealing certain State laws in so far as they sanctioned the levy of taxes on the sale or purchase of newspapers, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution. The Acts repealed were-Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939 (Madras Act IX of 1939), and the Bombay Finance Act, 1932 (Bombay Act II of 1932). From section 2 of this Act, it would appear that the Madras Act defined newspapers a....

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....ished under the abovementioned categories, which may properly be held not to qualify as "registered newspapers". Thus, a pictorial weekly, like the "Illustrated Weekly of India", gives pictorial news. Even photographs of bathing beauties in Bikinis in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, will be covered as pictorial news, coming within the scope of the expression "other news". Even wedding photographs would well be covered under "other news". A weekly, pictorial or otherwise, devoted almost entirely to society gossip would also be covered by the expression "other news ". The dictionary meaning of the word "gossip" is "idle talker, news-monger, tattler"-see The Concise Oxford Dictionary. Gossip is news-hence the expression "newsmonger". The ordin....