Gujarat High Court
Executive Engineer ( O And M ) vs M/S Shah Paper Mills Ltd on 23 January, 2025
Author: Sunita Agarwal
Bench: Sunita Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/MCA/188/2025 ORDER DATED: 23/01/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/MISC. CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 188 of 2025
In
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 996 of 2018
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EXECUTIVE ENGINEER ( O AND M )
Versus
M/S SHAH PAPER MILLS LTD. & ANR.
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Appearance:
MS LILU K BHAYA(1705) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MS BHARGAVI K THAKAR for the Opponent(s) No. 1
MS HETAL PATEL ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the Opponent(s)
No. 2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA
AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRANAV TRIVEDI
Date : 23/01/2025
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL) Heard Ms. Lilu K. Bhaya, learned counsel for the appellant and Ms.Bhargavi K. Thakar learned counsel appearing for the respondent no. 1 and perused the record.
2. The present application seeking for review of the judgment and order dated 24.06.2024 has been filed on the limited ground that liberty granted to the respondent to avail the remedy of appeal as per Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003, may not be made available inasmuch as, the original respondent had already availed the remedy of appeal challenging the final assessment made by the Page 1 of 4 Uploaded by PHALGUNI PATEL(HC00175) on Fri Jan 31 2025 Downloaded on : Fri Feb 21 21:35:12 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/188/2025 ORDER DATED: 23/01/2025 undefined competent authority.
2.1. The challenge before the writ Court was both to the final bill as also the order dated 08.09.2016 passed by the appellate authority. This fact has been missed by the Court while issuing final direction in paragraph '20' of the judgment under review.
3. Taking note of the facts recorded in paragraphs '2' and '19' of the judgment under review, we may record that the order passed by the appellate authority dated 08.09.2016 whereby the appeal filed by the original respondent/consumer has been upheld by the writ Court with the judgment and order dated 21.08.2017. By the judgment under review dated 24.06.2024, while allowing the appeal, we set aside both the orders passed by the appellate authority as also the learned Single Judge holding that there was no illegality in the procedure adopted by the competent authority in preparation of the final bill in accordance with the provisions of Section 126 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
4. We finally reached on the conclusion that the appellant is required to provide the final bill along with the calculation sheet to the respondent within a period of six weeks from the date of the decision, directing therein that the respondent shall be under an Page 2 of 4 Uploaded by PHALGUNI PATEL(HC00175) on Fri Jan 31 2025 Downloaded on : Fri Feb 21 21:35:12 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/188/2025 ORDER DATED: 23/01/2025 undefined obligation to make payment within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of the final bill.
5. For the fact brought before us that the remedy of appeal under Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003 has already been availed by the respondent no. 1 and the order passed by the appellate authority is set aside, there is no question of granting further liberty to the respondent to raise the challenge in the second round. 4.1. Insofar as the final bill which was the subject matter of the appeal has been set aside by the appellate authority vide order dated 08.09.2016, once affirmed, no further challenge can be allowed to be raised.
5. We, therefore, find it fit to modify the directions contained in paragraph '20' of the judgment under review by deleting the direction that "the respondent would be at liberty to avail the remedy of appeal as per Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003, and the order passed in the instant appeal shall not come in its way".
6. We further provide that the appellant shall serve the final bill upon the respondent within a further period of six weeks from today and on receipt therein, the respondent shall be under an obligation to make payment within a further period of four weeks, failing which Page 3 of 4 Uploaded by PHALGUNI PATEL(HC00175) on Fri Jan 31 2025 Downloaded on : Fri Feb 21 21:35:12 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/188/2025 ORDER DATED: 23/01/2025 undefined it would be open for the appellant to take appropriate recourse for recovery.
6.1. As regard the contention of the learned counsel for the respondent no. 1 that liberty may be granted to raise any dispute pertaining to the computation made in the final bill to be served upon the respondent under the direction issued by us, suffice it to note that any issue pertaining to computation can only be arithmetical and the respondent no. 1 shall be at liberty to raise further challenge to the computation made by the appellant. However, the dispute pertaining to the calculation which would be arithmetical can be raised by the respondent only after making entire deposit within the time given above. In case of failure by the respondent in making the deposit within the time given above, no further dispute would be permitted to be raised.
7. With the above modification in the final directions contained in paragraph '20' of the judgment and order dated 24.06.2024 under review, we dispose of the review application.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ ) (PRANAV TRIVEDI,J) phalguni Page 4 of 4 Uploaded by PHALGUNI PATEL(HC00175) on Fri Jan 31 2025 Downloaded on : Fri Feb 21 21:35:12 IST 2025