Constitution Guarantees Right To Trade, Not Profit-Allahabad High Court Dismisses Stamp Venders’ Plea Seeking Continuation Of Stamp Papers in Physical form

The Allahabad High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by the All UP Stamp Vendors Association, seeking continuation of judicial and non-judicial stamp paper in its physical form. A Single Bench of Justice Yashwant Varma dismissed the Association’s contention that discontinuation of paper stamps by the State Government violates the constitutional protections guaranteed by Articles 19(1)(g), 21 and 38 of the Constitution. At the outset, it was observed that merely because the Government has introduced E-Stamping Rules, does not show that it has discontinued the use of physical stamp altogether. Even otherwise, the Association’s members’ right to deal in stamps is not a right but it is founded exclusively on the license granted under the UP Stamp Rules 1942.