JUDGMENT :

PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, J.

1. This appeal is at the instance of the Electricity Distribution Company, i.e. the respondent in the writ petition, challenging the order of the learned Single Judge dated 23rd of March, 2022 whereby WPA 1936 of 2022 has been allowed and appellant has been directed to restore the electricity supply to the respondent no. 1 herein (writ petitioner) only on the reconnection charges without insisting upon deposit of its previous claims or past dues of electricity and other charges which had resulted into disconnection.

2. The respondents, herein, had filed the writ petition with the plea that the respondent no. 1 is an ISO9001 certified company engaged in the manufacturing of iron, steel and ferro alloy products. The matter relates to the electricity connection of the plant at Bishnupur, West Bengal which was shut down in 2014. The respondent no. 1 was placed under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (for short ‘CIRP’) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (for short ‘the IBC’) pursuance to which, the respondent no. 1 was taken over by the new management through respondent no. 2 who was a successful resolution applicant. For putting back the respondent no. 1 in operation by the new management, new electricity connection was required. Further case in the writ petition was that the electricity charges of the Damodar Valley Corporation (for short ‘DVC’) were on the lower side and recently, the respondents had come to know that the Government of West Bengal had decided that all industrial parks in the State will be supplied power by the appellant by the matching tariff of DVC. The respondents had approached the appellant and had submitted the representations for making the power available at the competitive rate. Further case of the respondents was that the appellant had orally refused to grant power supply or grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) till the entire earlier unpaid amount are paid by the respondent no. 1. In the aforesaid background, the writ petition was filed by the respondents with a prayer to direct the appellant to provide electricity connection to the respondent no. 1 at the competitive rate or to issue NOC to the respondents to seek power supply from the DVC or any other source.

3. Learned Single Judge, after hearing learned counsels for both the parties, has noted that CIRP was initiated and a resolution plan was passed by the NCLT on 10th of November, 2021. Learned Single Judge has found that upon approval by the adjudicating authority, the resolution plan becomes binding on the corporate debtor and its employees, members, creditors, guarantors and other stake-holders involved in the resolution plan. It has further been found that Section 238 of the IBC has overriding effect. After taking note of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the point. Learned Single Judge has found that the dues payable to the appellant squarely fall within the ambit of “operational debt” as defined by the IBC and the dues of the appellant relate back to the period immediately prior to the disconnection of the electricity supply, which took place on 29th of November, 2014, i.e., before the enactment of the IBC. Hence, the right of the appellant to recover got extinguished by operation of Section 31(1) of the IBC. On reaching to the above conclusion, learned Single Judge has allowed the writ petition.

4. Submission of learned counsel for the appellant is that the appellant was not permitted to file affidavit-in-opposition before the learned Single Judge. He has further submitted that in the resolution plan, the relief relating to grant of power connection was not allowed and in terms of the earlier agreement dated 15th of November, 1997, the appellant had right to disconnect the electricity on non-payment of electricity charges. Further referring to the West Bengal Regulatory Commission (Electricity Supply Code) Regulation, 2013, he has submitted that the respondent can get the new conn