9911796707
TMI Blog1965 (3) TMI 88X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... December 13, 1940, the Municipality passed a resolution bringing into force new rates for the supply of electric energy from April 1, 1940. The consumers paid the rates so fixed' till the year 1956. On April 30, 1956, the Municipal Council passed another resolution enhancing the rates from 1-4-1956. The appellants filed a representative suit against the Vijayawada Municipality in the Court of the District Munsif, Vijayawada, for a declaration that the said resolution dated April 30, 1956, passed by the Municipal Council was illegal, invalid and unenforceable and for an injunction restraining the said Municipality from collecting charges from the consumers of electric energy in the licensee's area at the new revised rates in pursuance of the impugned' resolution. The learned District Munsif held that the demand of enhanced rate was legal and valid and dismissed the suit. On appeal, the learned Subordinate Judge held that the levy from the date of the said resolution was good, but it could' not be given retrospective operation. He further held that the claim for duty at half an anna per unit was invalid. In the result he modified the decree of the District Munsif. On ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by the consumer:0--54 K.W. (4) Minimum monthly charge: ₹ 2---8--0 in accordance with (a) class rate in the Schedule of Rates. The Schedule of Rates mentioned in this agreement presumably refers to scale of rates fixed by the resolution of the Municipality. The conflicting arguments centre on the question whether the words current official scale of rates in para. IV relate to the scale of rates current on the date when the agreement was entered into or refer to the scale of rates current from time to time in accordance with the resolution passed by the Municipality. The expression current means vogue or prevalent ; and current rate may mean the rate obtaining at a particular time or at a future time or from time to time. The term goes well with the present, future and recurrent. It is capable of different meanings depending upon the context or setting in which it appears. As the meaning of the word is ambiguous, it is legitimate, in order to ascertain its true meaning, not only to study the document as a whole but also to ascertain its meaning from the circumstances whereunder the said agreement came into existence. Under para. X of the agreement the said agreemen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s that the licensee cannot discriminate between the applicants in the matter, among others, of rates chargeable for the energy supplied. Unless the Municipality enters into an agreement with a consumer enabling it to charge him at a rate fixed by it from time to time, it would be very difficult for the Municipality to maintain equality of treatment between the consumers in the matter of rates. To illustrate, if under certain agreement a rate obtaining at a particular date is agreed upon and the rate is binding on the Municipality even if it is raised later on, the Municipality may be guilty of discrimination which it is asked to avoid by statute if it charges other consumers at a higher rate. 'this difficulty can be avoided if there is a term in the agreement executed by every consumer that he will pay the official rate fixed by the Municipality from time to time subject to the maximum fixed by the licence. That apart, a public body like the Municipality in supplying energy to different consumers cannot run the risk of incurring loss by agreeing to fixed rates, for the Government may increase the licence fee, as it has done in the present case, or there may be a rise in the cos ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t from time to time. We have. therefore, on a reasonable construction of the ambiguous expression current having regard to the entire document and the surrounding circumstances, come to the conclusion that the words current official scale of rates in para. IV of the agreement mean the official scale of rates current or prevalent from time to time during the currency of the agreement. If so, it follows that the appellants were under a contractual liability to pay the enhanced rates covered by the impugned resolution. The next question turns upon s. 21(2) of the Act, which, as it then stood read: Subject to the provisions of sub- section (1), a licensee may, with the previous sanction of the State Government given after consulting the local authority, make conditions not inconsistent with this Act or with his licenee or with any rules made under this Act, to regulate his .relations with persons who are or intend to become consumers, and may with the like sanction given after the like consultation add to or alter or amend any such conditions; and any conditions made by a licensee without such sanction shall be null and void. Under this sub-section the licensee cannot make ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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