2023 Supreme(Online)(RAJ) 3864
RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT PRINCIPAL SEAT JODHPUR
LAKSHYA MICRONS – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF RAJASTHAN – Respondent
CW 10850 2023
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HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10850/2023
Lakshya Microns, Through Prop. Pragya Jain W/o Prince Bajaj,
Age About 32 Years, R/o G-179, 11D Centre, Udaipur District
Udaipur.
----Petitioner
Versus
1.
State Of Rajasthan, Through Principal Secretary,
Department Of Energy, Government Of Rajasthan, It
Center, Chambal Power House Campus, Hawa Sarak,
Jaipur-302006.
2.
Rajasthan Electricity Regulation Commission, Through Its
Chairman, Vidhyut Viniyamak Bhawan, Sahakar Marg,
Near State Motor Garage, Jaipur, Rajasthan-302001.
3.
Ajmer Vidhyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd., Through Its Managing
Director, Hathi Bhata, City Power House, Ajmer-305 001,
Rajasthan.
4.
The Additional Engineer (O And M), Ajmer Vidhyut Vitaran
Nigam Ltd. Udaipur.
5.
The Assistant Engineer (O And M), Ajmer Vidhyut Vitaran
Nigam Ltd., Udaipur.
6.
The Additional Chief Engineer (Hq), Ajmer Vidhyut Vitaran
Nigam Ltd., Commercial Wing, Vidyut Bhawan,
Panchsheel Nagar, Makarwali Road, Ajmer-305004.
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s)
:
Mr. Arvind Vyas
For Respondent(s)
:
Mr. Pankaj Sharma, AAG
Mr. Rishi Soni
Mr. D.S. Sodha
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE REKHA BORANA
Judgment
22/11/2023
1.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
controversy rests decided by judgment of the co-ordinate Bench of
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this Court in a bunch of writ petitions led by S.B. Civil Writ
Petition No.11242/2023 (Bhansali Dyeing, Proprietorship/
partner Ravi Mehta vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors.) decided on
09.11.2023.
2.
Learned counsel for the respondents does not refute the
above submission.
The Court while partly allowing the aforesaid writ petitions,
held as under:-
11. Thus, in view of the aforesaid discussion and the
observations made hereinabove, the present petitions
are partly allowed.
11.1. Accordingly, the impugned order dated
01.09.2022,alongwith the entire proceedings and
orders pursuant thereto, only to the extent of levy of
interest/carrying costs on the original principal
amount of Rs.3,048.64 Crores, so also the
interest/carrying costs amount payable towards other
heads and categories, are quashed and set aside.
Needless to say that the amount to be charged
towards special fuel surcharge can be recovered from
the consumers only to the extent of original principal
amount to the tune of Rs.3,048.64/- Crores.
11.2. This Court observes that the aforesaid order
has already covered almost all the issues in the
present litigation, however, in some of the instant
writ petitions, the order dated 13.06.2019has been
challenged and the said order is also hereby quashed
and set aside, only to the extent of the
interest/carrying costs amount payable on the
original principal amount as on the date of passing of
the said order; thus, recovery of special fuel
surcharge to be made only to the extent of the
original principal amount in pursuance of the said
impugned order on the same analogy as discussed
above for quashing the order dated01.09.2022.
During the process of making such recovery, amount,
if any, already recovered towards special fuel
surcharge from the consumers by the respondents,
the same shall be duly adjusted. Except for recovery
of the original principal amount, the entire
proceedings and orders in pursuance of the said
impugned order are also quashed and set aside.
11.3. Thus, the respondent-DISCOMS shall be
accordingly free to proceed to recover the respective
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original principal amounts from the consumers under
the head of special fuel surcharge, strictly in
accordance with this judgment.
3.
In view of the submission made and in view of the fact that
the present matter being covered by the judgment of
Bhansali Dyeing (supra) is not refuted by learned counsel for t