MAHARASHTRA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. KALYAN BOROUGH MUNICIPALITY DATTATRAYA PANDURANG PIMPALE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals, by certificate, are directed against the common judgment of the Bombay High Court, rendered in Special Civil Applications, Nos. 1570 and 1571 of 1962.

(2.) The circumstances, under which the two writ petitions were filed, by the respondent, in each of these two appeals may be briefly stated. Till January 14, 1959, a company called the Kalyan Electricity Company (Private) Ltd., held a licence for supplying electrical energy to the town of Kalyan and the surrounding areas. The licence of the said company was revoked by the Government of Maharashtra, and, on option being given to purchase the undertaking of the said company, the appellant purchased the same, on January 15, 1959. The appellant, hereinafter to be referred to as the Board, continued to supply electrical energy to the residents of Kalyan, according to the rates prescribed by the former Kalyan licensee, pending notification of its standard rates of supply. In March 1962, a public notice was given by the Board, to effect that in the Western Maharashtra area (which includes Kalyan) revised tariff would be applicable from the first day of the month next following the month in which supply of Koyna power became available. As the electrical energy from the Koyna Project became available from the month of June 1962, the Board caused another public notice to be issued, informing the public that the Boards revised tariffs would come into force from July 1962, and that bills, in respect of the power consumption, during that month, would be issued at the revised tariffs, in August 1962.

(3.) One Dattatraya Pandurang Pimpale and other consumers of electricity, formed an association, called 'Kalyan-DombivaliVij-Grahak Mandal', to protest against the steps taken, by the appellant, to levy increased charges, for the supply of electrical energy. As the request of the Association, for not increasing the charges, was not heeded to, by the appellant, which threatened to stop supply of electricity to consumers, if the bills were not paid, according to the revised tariffs, the said Dattatraya filed, in the High Court, a writ petition, under Art. 226 being Special Civil Application No. 1571 of 1962, seeking directions to restrain the Board from dis-connecting supply of electrical energy.