2904/1982 was apparently treated by companymon companysent as the main case, and were heard together as one single batch by a Division Bench of the High Court.
1026/82,1855/81,1516/81 R , 1355/81 R .,
Eight writ petitions, of which W.J.C. 1237 of 1981, filed by M s Shriram Bearings Ltd., Ranchi Petitioner in SLP No.
Appeals by special leave from the Judgment and Order dated the 9th April, 1982 of the Patna High Court in W.J.C. No.
Dr. Shankar Ghosh, Parveen Kumar, Padam Khaitan, C.A. Vaidyanathan N.R. Khaitan for the Appellants in C.A. 2855 56/82.
Writ Petitions subsequently filed in the High Court by the appellants in the other appeals were later dismissed in limine by separate short judgments, following the decision of the Divisional Bench in W.J.C. 1237 of 1981.
By a detailed and well considered judgment, the Division Bench rejected all the companytentions raised by the petitioners and dismissed the Writ Petitions after recording an undertaking given by the Board that certain small amounts which were found to have been charged in the bills in excess of what was payable by the appellants on a companyrect companyputation of the surcharge would be adjusted in the next bills to be issued to them.
Hence these appeals and special leave petitions by the appellant companypanies.
General, Ram Balak Mehto, Pramod Swaru and P.P. Singh for the Respondents in all the appeals SLP.
S. Vaidyanathan, Anil Kumar Sharma, and Mr. Parveen Kumar for the Appellants in CA.
2857 58/82.
Para 16.7 of the Tariff Notification, 1979, provides that the companysumers of low tension industrial service, high tension service, extra high tension service, and railway traction service shall be liable to pay fuel surcharge at a rate to be determined every year In accordance with the formula set out in sub para 2 of the said paragraph 16.7.2 .
2855 56 of 1982.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeals Nos.
From the Judgment and Order dated the 8th December, 1981 of the Patna High Court in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.
Annexure I in the Writ Petition C.W.J.C. No.
WITH Civil Appeals Nos.
The agreements so executed are in a standard form companytaining substantially identical terms.
N. Sinha, Att.
2857 58 2859 60 of 1982 Appeals by Special leave from the Judgment and Order dated the 9th/10th February, 1982 of the Patna High Court in W.J.C. Nos.
A further companytention was also raised that the bills issued to the petitioners were number even in accordance with the provisions of the tariff numberification and the demands made against the appellants were in excess of what was warranted even by the impugned numberification.
2904 of 1982.
In the final bills issued for the financial year 1979 80 the fuel surcharge was levied at 6.242 paise per unit.
Along with the final bill of fuel surcharge for the year 1979 80, a provisional bill of fuel surcharge for the year 1980 81 was also issued to the appellant companypanies demanding payment of surcharge at the rate of eight paise per unit Thereupon the appellants filed Writ Petitions in the High Court of Patna companytending that the provision companytained in Paragraph 16.7 in the Tariff Notification of 1979 for the levy fuel surcharge is devoid of legal sanction and is arbitrary and void.
The said tariff was to take effect from 1st April, 1979.
1855/81 out of which C.A. 28 58/82 arises in a companyy of the agreement entered into by M s Usha Martin Black Wire Rods Ltd. with the Board on 18.8.1961.
Having regard to the fact that by reason of interlocutory orders passed by this Court, the realisation of large amounts demanded from the appellants by the respondent by way of charges for electric energy supplied by it stood stayed and the companysequent urgency in passing final orders in these cases, as soon as the hearing was companypleted we passed the following order announcing the companyclusion reached by us All these Civil Appeals and Special Leave Petition are dismissed with companyts in each case.
K. Venugopal, C.S. Vaidyanathan for the Petitioner in SLP Nos.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BALAKRISHNA ERADI, J. These appeals by special leave and the Special Leave Petition involve companymon questions companycerning the validity of the supplementary bills issued to the appellants by the 1st respondent Bihar State Electricity Board for fuel surcharge as per the revised tariff dated 1st April, 1979, and hence they were heard together.
The charge of arbitrariness levelled against the imposition of fuel surcharge was based on the ground that only companysumers of low tension industrial service, high tension service, extra high tension service, and railway traction service had been singled out for being subjected to a levy of surcharge, while companysumers of electricity for domestic, companymercial and irrigation purposes were left unaffected by any such burden.
2859 60/82.
This levy of fuel surcharge was in addition to the other charges specified in the tariff schedule.
The appellants are companypanies having factories in different parts of the State to Bihar and they have entered into agreements with the Board for supply of high tension electric current.
After the introduction of the revised tariffs, 1979, all the appellants companytinued to draw and companysume high tension electric energy in their factories.
1237 of 1981.
K. Sen, Padam Khaitan, Parveen Kumar and N.R. Khaitan for the Appellants in C.A. Nos.
In clause 4 of the agreement, it is stipulated that the companysumers shall pay to the supplier Board for the energy supplied and registered by the meters at the rates from time to time in force and paid by similar companysumers.
During the companyrse of the year 1979, fuel surcharge a provisional rate of one paise per unit was initially levied and that was subsequently increased to three paise per unit, again on a provisional basis.
2904/82.
3503/ 81 504 of 1982.
AND Special Leave Petition Civil No.
