KENIA, J. - (1.) Industrial consumers of electricity falling within the category of "heavy and large power consumers" and "small and medium power consumers" receiving supply of electricity from the U.P. State Electricity Board (hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, referred to as "the Board"), have approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to challenge the new tariffs enforced by the Board with effect from the 17th of October, 1989 through notification dated the 21st of April, 1990, bearing number 1287-HC/SEB/V/1974-1204 C/90.
(2.) The dispute in these petitions is confined to the rate schedule for the categories LMV-6, HV-1 and MV-2.
(3.) The Board is a statutory body constituted under Section 5 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 (hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, referred to as "the Act". The Act has been enacted to provide for regularisation of the production and supply of electricity and generally for taking measures conducive to electrical development. Under Section 18 of the Act the Board stands charged, among other things, with the general duty of having to arrange for the supply of electricity that may be required within the State and for the transmission and distribution thereof in the most efficient and economical manner with particular reference to the areas which are not, for the time being, supplied or adequately supplied with electricity. The provisions of Section 49 empower the Board to supply electricity upon such terms and conditions as the Board thinks fit and for the purpose of such supply frame uniform tariffs. The Board came into existence in the year 1959 and since its first planned rate schedule placing various consumers in their respective categories with different rates for each category, the rate schedule has been revised upwards at regular intervals and occasionally the categories of consumers have also undergone change. For the purpose of the present petitions it is convenient to, briefly, summarise the position obtaining from 1982 up to date with regard to the fixation of tariffs.;