9911796707
TMI Blog1972 (10) TMI 131X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... get its justification examined. The plaintiff continued charging this rate upto July 1951. By that date the Indian Electricity Supply Act, 1948 (Act 54 of 1948) (hereinafter called the Supply Act ) had come into force in the State of Rajasthan with effect from April 1, 1951 by virtue of the provisions contained in the Part B States Adaptation of Laws Act. In view of the provisions of the Supply Act the consumers and the Minister of the Government and the Company entered into an agreement which is contained in Schedule 'A' annexed to the plaint whereby it was agreed that the plaintiff shall provisionally charge at the rate of annas six per unit and a Rating Committee shall be constituted for determining the reasonableness of the charge claimed by the Company and the rate determined shall be charged from 1-2-1951. This agreement was signed on September 14, 1952. It is Exhibit 13. The Company pursuant to the agreement provisionally collected electricity charges for domestic use at the rate of annas six per unit. The Rating Committee reported that the 'reasonable return' worked out according to the Sixth Schedule of the Supply Act justified Company's charging a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... greed that the plaintiff as a licensee should provisionally charge six annas per unit from the consumers and a Rating Committee be appointed to adjudge on the basis of the Sixth Schedule of the Supply Act whether the demand of the plaintiff as a licensee was reasonable or not and it was further stipulated in that agreement that if the Rating Committee came to the conclusion that eight annas per unit represented the reasonable return, the same shall be chargeable with effect from February 1, 1951. Section 56 of the Supply Act had not come into operation when the rate was increased to eight annas per unit. All that was sought to be done by the Rating Committee was to scrutinize whether the demand of the plaintiff was reasonable or not. The Rating Committee having come to the conclusion that eight annas per unit for the domestic supply was reasonable according to the principles laid down in the Sixth Schedule of the Supply Act the Government as a consumer as well as a Government were bound by the Report and that the plaintiff's claim should have succeeded. His further submission was that the agreement contained a deferred demand and the price of the electricity was not governed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iffs can maintain their suit ? 2. If so, whether the Government was no party to it as a consumer and (contd. on Col. 2) For the price of the goods sold and delivered where the fixed period of credit is agreed upon. 8. Having regard to the documents to this dispute it was no case of delivery of any goods, the price for which had already been settled. The [price was under dispute and the bills were sent provisionally according to the evidence of P. W. 1 Shanker Kishore Joshi who has said that each of the bills was rubber stamped as provisional. The determination of the price was dependent on the report of the Rating Committee constituted pursuant to the agreement in Ex. 13. It would be equally erroneous to say that the goods were sold on credit. If the Rating Committee had decided against the increase of the electricity there would have been probably the end of the matter. As a matter of fact the goods were sold and the price remained to be determined by an appointed party. Even Article 53, therefore, would not apply because that speaks of the period of credit. Articles 54, 55 and 56 are equally inapplicable. In fact the present suit partook of the nature of the suit for recov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... djust the bills with effect from February 1951 onward in accordance with the recommendations of the Rating Committee. On receipt of the report of the Rating Committee the Government undertook to expeditiously complete all the formalities so that the recommended rates with effect from 1st February. 1951 could be enforced by the licensee by the beginning of January 1953. The Government was to offer to the licensee co-operation and help in implementing this agreement and the recommendations of the Rating Committee both in letter and spirit. The Minister stated that the Government did not wish to change the personnel of the Committee in any case unless so directed by the High Court and eventually the agreement was signed for the Government by Shri Bhola Nath. P. W. D. Minister. Consequent to this agreement the Company charged old rates on the condition that the rates recommended by the Rating Committee shall be given retrospective effect from 1-2-1951 and further that the Government shall implement this agreement and the recommendations of the Committee faithfully. The learned Civil Judge has held that the minutes contained in Ex. 13 amounted to an agreement to which the Government ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... med to be incorporated in the licence of any licensee, the following provisions shall have effect in relation to the said licensee, namely:-- (a) The Board, or where no Board is constituted under this Act the State Government, may. if it is satisfied that the licensee has failed to comply with any provision of the Sixth Schedule, and shall when requested so to do by the licensee, constitute a rating committee to examine the licensee's charges for the supply of electricity and to recommend thereon to the State Government 3 Provided that no rating committee Shall be constituted in respect of a licensee within three years from the date on which such a committee has re-ported in respect of that licensee, unless the State Government declares that in its opinion circumstances have arisen rendering the orders passed on the recommendations of the previous rating committee unfair to the licensee or any of his consumers. (c) Within one month after the receipt of the report under Clause (b) the State Government shall cause the report to be published in the Official Gazette, and may at the same time make an order in accordance therewith fixing the licensee's charges for the suppl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ge under Para. I of Schedule VI of the Supply Act, 1948, the former would, to that extent, be superseded and the latter would prevail. The submission of the licensee that the limit imposed by the maxima prescribed by the State Government under the Electricity Act, 1910. ceased to be in force after the Supply Act of 1948 came into force is thus well founded. In the case before us the Company was entitled to raise even under its own licence and it did in point of fact raise prior to the coming into force of the Supplies Act in Rajasthan its rate on the domestic supply of electricity from annas six to annas eight but it agreed to suspend the recovery with a view to assuage the consumers' resentment by accepting the Rating Committee's recommendation subject to this condition that the rates shall be chargeable with effect from 1-2-1951 provided the Ratine Committee approved the same to be the reasonable return. In our opinion prior to the coming into force of the Supplies Act the Company had a right under the licence clause granted under the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 to raise the rate upto eight annas a unit. After the coming into force of the Supplies Act it was unilate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d. The burden obviously was on the plaintiff. The plaintiff moved an application on 17-4-1957 that the defendant had evasively replied the fact of the receipt of the bills by it and the balance claimed and for a fair disposal of the suit it was necessary to have discovery of certain documents. The defendant sought time to collect the documents and eventually on 19-9-1957 said that the bills mentioned in Schedule 'A' to the plaint and received by the several Government Departments were not traceable. On 12-9-1959 the plaintiff moved another application under Order 11, Rule 1. Civil P. C. seeking permission to serve an interrogatory on the State to answer if the various Departments and Officers mentioned in Schedule 'A' to the plaint received the revised bills mentioned in Schedule 'A' to the plaint. The defendant opposed that application and the learned Civil Judge disallowed it on the ground that allowing of an interrogatory would entail loss of time. In this background the question 5s whether the proof tendered by the plaintiff regarding the difference in rates is (a) admissible and (b) sufficient to fasten the liability on to the defendant. We have exam ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Board. The numbers given in the statement of the witness appear to be erroneous. I have scrutinized the record and their correct numbers are 430 and 551 and they are Exs. 9 (21) and Ex. 9 (45) respectively. The total amount of these is ₹ 342/2/-. In such state of evidence, when the accounts of the Company have been maintained in the regular course of business and audited as per evidence of P. W. 1 Shanker Kishore Joshi there is no other conclusion than this that the plaintiff had adeuately proved its claim subject to the exception of the two bills relating to aforesaid consumers because they prima facie relate to City Corporation and Municipal Board which are ordinarily independent of the Government. Reducing the amount of these two bills the balance of the claim amounts to ₹ 99,663/14/-. 16. The last point that remains to be determined is whether the plaintiff Company is entitled to any interest. Section 61 of the Sale of Goods Act reads:-- 61. (1) Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the seller or the buyer to recover interest or special damages in any case where by law interest or special damages may be recoverable, or to recover the money paid where ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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