Said tariff does not violate any statutory or constitutional provisions.

(Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the order passed in W.P.No. 1763 of 2003 dated 06.11.2003.)

Markandey Katju, C.J.

This batch of writ appeals and writ petitions involve common questions of fact and law and they are therefore disposed off by this common judgment.

2. The challenge in these cases is to the levy of peak hour charges at 20% etc per unit over and above the normal rate for consumption of electricity consumed by High Tension consumers during peak hours i.e. between 6.00 a.m. and 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.

3. The writ appeals have been filed against the impugned judgment of the learned single Judge of this Court dated 06.11.2003.

4. Heard learned counsel for the parties, and perused the record.

5. The petitioner in W.P.No. 1763 of 2003 (which we have treated as the leading case), namely, M/s.Magna Electro Castings Limited has prayed for a writ of declaration to quash clause ‘d ‘ of the High Tension Tariff I to the schedule of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Revision of Tariff Rates on Supply of Electrical Energy Act, 1978 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Tamil Nadu Act of 1978’) by which peak hour charges have been imposed as null and void and for a mandamus directing the respondents to refund to the petitioner the peak hour charges said to have been illegally collected so far from the month of August 1997 or adjust the same in future bills.

6. The petitioner in W.P.No. 1763 of 2003 is a Public Limited Company and is a consumer from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board having service connection No.176 within Udumalpet Electricity Distribution Circle. The service connection is high tension having a load of 1750 KVA. The petitioner is engaged in manufacturing iron castings.

7. The petitioner is a manufacturing industry, which obtained high tension power connection under Tariff I as per the schedule to the Tamil Nadu Act of 1978.

8. The legislative entry relating to electricity is Entry 38 List – III of the 7th Schedule to the Constitution. Hence both Parliament and the State Legislature can enact laws relating to electricity.

9. Section 49(1) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, which is a parliamentary law, provided for the respective State Electricity Boards to fix uniform tariffs. However, the Tamil Nadu Act of 1978 which was passed subsequently by the Tamil Nadu Legislature, and received the assent of the President of India on 25.02.1997 also provides for fixing the electricity tariff (in Tamil Nadu), and hence it prevails over the provisions of Section 49 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 in view of Article 254(2) of the Constitution.

10.Sections 3 and 4 of Tamil Nadu Act of 1978 state as follows: -

“ 3. Tariff rates for consumption of electrical energy. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Tamil Nadu Essential Articles Control and Requisitioning (Temporary Powers ) Act, 1949 (Tamil Nadu Act XXIX of 1949),the tariff rates payable to Tamil Nadu Electricity Board by any consumer on the electrical energy supplied by the Board shall be as specified in the schedule to this Act.

4. Power of the State to amend the Schedule: - The State Government may after taking into account the cost of production of energy, and such other matters as may be prescribed, by notification, amend the provisions of the Schedule to this Act.”

11. Part – A of the Schedule to Tamil Nadu Act of 1978 mentions the electricity tariff relating to high tension supply as envisaged in Section 3. In exercise of the power conferred on the State Government by Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Act of 1978, the State Government issued G.O.Ms.No.17 dated 14.2.1997, which amended the High Tension tariff by inserting the following clause: -

“ High Tension Tariff: -

(d) For the High Tension Industrial Consumers, Time of the Day meter shall be provided. On installation of Time of the Day meters, the High Tension Industrial Consumers shall be billed at 20 per cent extra on the energy charges for the energy recorded during peak load h