JUDGMENT

RANGANATHAN. J. - There was a time when, in almost every State in India, people were invited to avail of the supply of the electric energy produced in the State and offered special concessions when they agreed to do so in bulk under long term contracts. A situation, however, has since developed when the demand for the energy increased so rapidly that quantity of available electric energy also having gone up tremendously the rates of supply agreed upon uneconomical. The State and its instrumentalities, who were supplying the energy, found themselves without power to revise the rates to meet the altered situation until the legislature came to the rescue. It is this situation in the case of Kanoria Chemicals and Industries Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the appellant) which has given rise to these appeals.

2. The Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the 1948 Act) entrusted the control over the generation and distribution of electric energy to electricity Boards constituted under the Act. In the State of Uttar Pradesh, the U.P. State Electricity Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) was constituted on April 1, 1959. At that time, the State Govern