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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
R.S. BACHAWAT AND K.S. HEGDE, JJ.
Gujarat Electricity Board Appellant
Versus
Girdharlal Motilal and another, Respondents.
Civil Appeal No. 2526 of 1966,
D/-6-8-1968.
Advocates appeared
Mr. C. K. Daphtary, Attorney-General for India, (Mr. I. N. Shroff, Advocate, with him), for Appellant; Mr. M. C Chagla, Senior Advocate, (M/s. R. M. Vin and R. Gopalakrishnan, Advocates, with him), for Respondent No. 1, M/s. R. H. Dhebar and S. K. Dholakia, Advocates, for Respondent No. 2.
Indian Electricity Act 1910 - Section 6, 8, 6 (i) (a), 6 (1), 7 (1) and (4) - Baroda Electricity Act, 1964 - Indian Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 - Section 5 and 71 - Granted a Licence to Supply Electric Energy - Valid Notice - Whether notice issued by appellant under Section 6 of Indian Electricity Act 1910 is valid - Whether that notice complies with requirements of Section 6 (i) (a) of Act - Whether he should issue notice under provisions of Act - Whether State Electricity Board purported to exercise power under law as it was on date of notice or as it was under unamended Act – Held, It was contended by learned Attorney-General on behalf of appellant that in matters like these rigid compliance with provisions of law should not be insisted upon - According to him if legal requirements are substantially satisfied validity of notice given, should be upheld - Proceeding further he urged that so long as notice given by Electricity Board is sufficient to intimate licensee intention of Board, mandate of law is complied with in a notice under Sec. 6 (1) what is of essence is substance of matter mentioned therein and not manner in which notice is worded - In this case Court is not satisfied that requirements of law have at least been substantially complied with - Obviously person who issued notice was not familiar with legal position - He appears to be under misapprehension that Section 71of Electricity (Supply) Act 1948 was still in operation when he gave notice - On reading notice licensee could not have been definite whether State Electricity Board purported to exercise power under law as it was on date of notice or as it was under unamended Act - Rights and liabilities of Electricity Board and licensee before Act 32 of 1959 came into force are substantially different from their rights and liabilities under Act - On reading impugned notice it could not have been clear to licensee that he had been called upon to sell undertaking in accordance with law as it then stood – Court is unable to accede to request of Attorney General to read into notice words which are not there - For reasons mentioned hereinbefore Court agree with High Court that impugned notice is invalid and by virtue of that notice appellant cannot compel respondents to sell by undertaking in question - Appeal dismissed.
Judgement
HEGDE, J.: The only question for decision in this appeal is whether the notice issued by the appellant on June 23, 1961 under Section 6 of the Indian Electricity Act 1910 as amended by Act 32 of 1959 (to be hereinafter referred to as the Act) is valid. The High Court has come to the conclusion that it is not a valid notice.
2. On 4th January, 1923, the father of respondent No. 1 was granted a licence to supply electric energy within the area consisting of municipal limits of Dabhoi and the territories comprised within half mile radius from the municipal boundary lines by the Government of Baroda under the Baroda Electricity Act Samvat 1964 (Act 1 of 1964). The said Co. was known as Dabhoi Electricity Co. Respondent No. 1 was at all material times the holder of this licence.
3. The said licence conferred an option on the Government to purchase the undertaking in accordance with the terms of the licence. Clause 26 (a) of that licence is material for our present purpose. That clause reads:
"The option of purchase given by Section 8 of the Act shall be exercisable on the expiration of 40 years computed from the commencement of this licence and thereafter on the expiration of every subsequent period of 8 years during the subsistence of this licence.. . .. . . . .."
4. On the merger of Baroda State with the then Province of Bombay, the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 and the Indian Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 were made applicable to the territories of the former State of Baroda and the corresponding Baroda Act was repealed with the saving clause that the licences issued under the repealed Act shall continue to remain in force until the expiration of the period of licence as if they were issued under the Act of 1910.
5. In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 5 of the Indian Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, the State Government constituted the appellant Corporation. The appellant served upon respondent No. 1 a notice on June 23, 1961. That notice is important for our present purpose. Hence we shall quote the same in full. It is as follows:
"THE GUJARAT ELECTRICITY BOARD
Kothi Bldg., Raopura
Road, Baroda.
Reg. A. D.
Ref. No. PLE. BRD.
7 (A) 19648. Dated 23 June, 1961.
To
The Dabhoi Electric
Power Supply Co.
c/o Shri Girdharlal Motilal
Contractor (Sheth).
Ajit Bungalow, Pratapnagar
Society, Baroda.
Sub: (1) Notice under Section 6 of the Indian Electricity Act 1910and exercise of option vested in the Gujarat Electricity Board to purchase your undertaking.
(ii) The Dabhoi Electric License 1923 granted by the Government of Baroda under the State Electricity Act, Samvat 1964.
Dear Sir,
In exercise of the powers conferred on the Gujarat Electricity Board by virtue of Section 71 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, read together with Section 6 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, as amended by the Indian Electricity (Amendment) Act 1959 (32 of 1959) this is to give you notice that the Gujarat Electricity Board has decided to exercise and shall exercise the option of purchasing your undertaking on 3rd January, 1963, the date on which the license granted to you by the Government of Baroda expires. The receipt of this notice may please be acknowledged.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/- Secretary,
The Gujarat Electricity Board."
As this notice was issued after the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 was amended by Act 32 of 1959, we have to see whether that notice complies with the requirements of Section 6 (i) (a) of the Act which says:
"Where a license has been granted to any person not being a local authority, State Electricity Board shall.-
(a) in the case of a license granted before the commencement of the Indian Electricity (Amendment) Act, 1959 on the expiration of each such period as is specified in the license................have the option of purchasing the undertaking and such option shall be exercised by the State Electricity Board serving upon the licensee a notice in writing of not less than one year requiring the licensee to sell the undertaking to
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