This is a petition under article 226 of the Constitution by a company, called the Indian Explosives Limited, having its registered office at Calcutta. It runs a factory for the manufacture of fertilizers at Panki District, Kanpur, within the State of Uttar Pradesh. The principal raw material used in the manufacture of fertilizer is raw naphtha, refined from crude oil at the refinery of the 5th respondent, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited at Barauni in the State of Bihar. For the regular supply of raw naphtha the petitioner-company entered into an agreement with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as the IOC) on 9th February, 1970. The terms of the agreement, which are relevant for our purposes, are to the following effect :

(a) The duration of the agreement is for a period of 10 years beginning from 10th September, 1969, and ending on 31st December, 1970 (sic ). The agreement, however, will continue thereafter also unless it is terminated by either party by giving not less than one years notice.

(b) The naphtha to be supplied to the petitioner-company is to be of specified quality.

(c) The quantity of naphtha to be supplied will be 95,000 tonnes