- (1.) The appellants are all owners of their respective lands, having fish farms thereon, and the respondent is Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. The appellants are enjoying supply of electricity from the respondent-Board.
(2.) The Tamil Nadu Revision of Tariff Rates on Supply of Electrical Energy Act, 1978 (Tamil Nadu Act No. 1 of 1979) has been enacted to provide for the revision of tariff rates leviable on electrical energy supplied in the State by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Section 3 provides that the tariff rates payable to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board by any consumer on the electrical energy supplied by the Board shall be as specified in the Schedule to the Act. Under S. 4, the State Government is empowered to amend the provisions of the Schedule by Notification.
(3.) The relevant part of the Schedule, as published in Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary dated March 12, 1990 and with which we are concerned reads as under :- "Low Tension Tariff V : Agriculture- a) SmallFarmers. (b) Tubewells Sunk by Tamil Nadu State Tubewell Corporation catering to small farmers. No Charge (c) Other farmers.- (i) Contracted load up to and inclusive of 5 H. P. Lump sum of Rs. 50 per horse power per annum (ii) Contracted load above 5 H. P. Lump sum of Rs. 75 per horse power per annum Explanation (i).- 'Small Farmerandapos; means a person whose total holding whether as owner, tenant or mortgagee with possession, or partly in one capacity and partly in another, does not exceed two and a half acres of wet lands or five acres of dry lands. In computing the extent of land held by a person who holds wet and dry lands, two acres of dry lands shall be taken to be equivalent to one acre of wet land. Explanation (ii).- Supply of power shall be given free of charge to the small farmers whose family is solely dependent on the income derived from his agricultural land holdings. Explanation (iii).- Agricultural consumers shall be permitted lighting up to 50 watts per 1,000 watts of motive power connected, subject to a maximum of 150 watts inclusive of wattage of pilot lamps each of which shall not exceed 15 watts and with no more than 3 lamps (excluding pilot lamps) for lighting the farm or the field around the pumpset. Energy used for radios and other appliances including domestic lighting in farm houses shall be metered separately and charged for at the appropriate tariff. Agricultural consumers shall be permitted to use the water pumped from the well and stored in overhead tanks for bona fide domestic purposes in the farm house. The farm house shall be in close proximity not exceeding 150 feet from the well. Explanation (iv).- Extra lighting in agricultural services over the permissible limit shall be charged for either if separately metered, as per Low Tension Tariff IX or if not separately metered on a flat rate of Rs. 2 per 40 watts lamp (ordinary) larger lamps in proportion. If fluorescent and mercury vapour lamps are connected the rate shall be enhanced as laid down under Low Tension Tariff II." In the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary dated 19th November, 1990, the following Notification was published :- "Notification In exercise of the powers conferred by S. 4 of the Tamil Nadu Revision of Tariff Rates on Supply of Electrical Energy Act, 1978 (Tamil Nadu Act 1 of 1979), the Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby makes the following amendment to the Schedule to the said Act. 2. The amendment hereby make shall come into force on the 19th November, 1990. AMENDMENT In the said Act, in the Schedule, under the heading, "Part B-Low Tension Supply," and under the sub-heading "Low Tension Tariff V Agriculture," (i) for the expressions from "(a) Small Farmers" to "lump sum of Rs. 75 per horse power per annum," the following expression shall be substituted, viz. - "No charge." (ii) Explanation (i) and Explanation (ii) shall be deleted. (By order of the Governor) D. Murugaraj, Secretary to Government." The effect of the Notification was that so far as agriculture is concerned the categorisation of farmers such as into 'small' and 'others' was done away with and the supply of electricity on low tension for the purpose of agriculture became free i.e. to be levied with 'no charge.' The appellants claimed benefit of the Notification submitting that they were engaged in fish farming, i.e. pisciculture, which is only a specie of agriculture and, therefore, they were also entitled to the benefit of Notification dated 19-11-1990. However, the benefit was denied to the appellants on the ground that they were fish farmers and engaged in pisciculture which could not be treated as agriculture. The High Court has also in its impugned judgment taken a view contrary to the contention of the appellants. They are in appeal by special leave.;