The prayer, in this application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, is to restrain the respondents from charging the petitioner in accordance with the amounts specified in annexure 1' and 4' appended to the application. By annexure 1' respondent no. 2 has Sent to the petitioner a revised bill from the 17th of July, 1975 to the 17th of July, 1976 and has made a demand for a further sum of Rs 5, 340.40 paise in accordance with the details of demand enclosed and by annexure 4' a further demand of Rs. 25,848.96 paise has been made for the period July, 1975 to May, 1978. The further prayer in this application, is that the respondents be restrained from giving effect to that portion of annexure 1' where in it has been said that the petitioner will have to pay revised energy, bills from the 18th of July, 1976 up-to-date according to high tension tariff as per Board's procedure, The petitioner is a partnership firm registered under the Indian Partnership Act, and carries on the business of manufacture of Fire and Insulation, Acid proof bricks, Electrical Procelain, Dinner and Sanitary wares etc, for which purpose it has a factory.

2. The relevant facts are that the petitioner has been running its industry since the year 1964 and at the relevant time applied to the Ranchi Electric Supply Company Limited, the licensee under the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 (hereinafter referred to as the Electricity Act) for the supply or low tension electrical energy which the Ranchi Electric Supply Company Limited started giving in accordance with its requirements. It is further the petitioner's case that it is supplied electrical energy through a transformer which has the capacity to supply 150 KVA at a time. According to the petitioner, it was billed by the Ranchi Electric Supply Company Limited on the basis of the supply of electrical energy of 75 Horse Power which were being paid.

3. By an ordinance being Bihar Ordinance 140 of 1975, which came into force on 17th July, 1975, the Ranchi Electric Supply Company Limited was taken over by the Bihar State Electricity Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) and the supply of electrical energy to the petitioner was continued by the Board, and to begin with, the petitioner was billed on the basis or 75 Horse Power. However, by a letter dated the 20th of July, 1978, bearing reference no. 20 l7E/78/M-666, the petitioner was informed by the Assistant Electrical Engineer (Revenue) of respondent no. 1, the Bihar State Electricity Board, that for the period 17th July 1975 to 17th July 1976 a revised bill was being sent to it on the basis of the difference between the supply of 154 Horse Power and 75 Horse Power, the details of which were being attached. A copy of this communication is annexure 1'. In other words, the petitioner was informed that for the period mentioned therein i.e. from the date that the Board had taken over the Ranchi Electric Supply Company Limited, the Board would charge the petitioner not on the basis of 7 Horse Power but on the basis of 144 Horse Power. It may further be stated that in the very letter the petitioner was further informed that a second revised bill also would be sent to it and that would be on the basis of high tension tariff as per Board's existing procedure. This demand of a revised sum for the period was objected by the petitioner. However, by a bill dared 13th February, 1979 a copy of which is annexure 4' the petitioner was also asked to pay from July, 1976 to May, 1978, a further sum of Rs.25,848.96 paise. Against such a demand, the petitioner protested again on various grounds by its letter dated 6th February, 1979, a copy of which is annexure 5'. in reply to that the petitioner received a communication dated 22nd February, 1979, from the Special Officer of the Board, a copy where of is annexure 6' stating that the petitioner's objection with regard to the revised bills had been referred to the Electrical Superintending Engineer