1. Petitioner No. 1 in this application is an industrial consumer of electrical energy; it gets supply from the Bihar State Electricity Board (the Board, for short) in terms of the High Tension Agreement, in the statutory form, which the petitioner had been obliged to execute as a pre-condition for getting its electrical connection. In this application it questions the right of the Board to demand the minimum guaranteed charges in terms of clause 4 of the agreement and seeks an appropriate writ or direction quashing the annual minimum guarantee bills as contained in Annexure 3 series. It also seeks quashing of the disconnection notice, dated 12-11-1984, a photo copy of which is to be found at Annexure-5, served on it for non-payment of the minimum guarantee bills.

2. This is an application of the year, 1986; it has been awaiting hearing by this Court for the past seven years. In the mean while, in several other cases, this Court and the Supreme Court have had occasions to make pronouncements on this question and the law relating to the minimum guaranteed charges now rests with the Supreme Court decision in the case of Bihar State Electricity Board V/s. M/ s. Dhanawat Rice O