Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
S.S.M. Quadri and Shivaraj V. Patil ORDER
Shivaraj V. Patil, J.
1. In the light of the contentions raised and submissions made before us, the only question that arises for consideration and decision in this appeal is whether pumping out water from a mine comes within the meaning of manufacture, production, processing or repair of goods so as to claim exemption from duty under Notifications issued under Sub-section 3 of Section 3 of the Rajasthan Electricity (Duty) Act, 1962 (for short the 'Act')?
2. This appeal is by the Rajasthan State Electricity Board, Jaipur, the Defendant in the suit.
3. In short and substance, the facts which are considered relevant and necessary for disposal of this appeal are the following.
4. The Plaintiff-Respondent No. 1 is a registered public limited company. It is engaged in excavating stones from the collieries and thereafter converting them into slabs by cutting and polishing. The Rajasthan State Government levied electricity duty under the provisions of the Act. A Notification dated 26.3.1962 was issued by the State under Section 3(3) of the Act granting exemption from tax on the energy consumed by a consumer in any industry in the manufacture, production, processing or repair of goods and by or in respect of any mine as defined in the Indian Mines, Act, 1923.
5. Subsequently a notification was issued on 2.3.1963 superseding the aforesaid Notification dated 23.3.1962, remitting the electricity duty on the energy consumed in electro-chemical industry and in electric furnaces of electro-thermo industries and reducing such duty on the energy consumed in other industries in the manufacture production, processing or repair of goods, from 3 naya paise per unit to 1 naya paise per unit. Further one more Notification was issued on 1.11.1965 superseding the earlier two Notifications mentioned above and fixing duty at 5 paise per unit as the rate at which electricity duty shall be computed. However, by Clause (c) of the said notification, the State of Rajasthan reduced the duty on the energy consumed in industries other than those mentioned in Clause (a) of the Notification in the manufacture, production, processing or repair of goods to 1 paise per unit. The same was later on enhanced to 2 paise by Notification dated 5.3.1979.
6. The Defendant issued three notices dated 30.6.1972, 21.12.1973 and 30.11.1974 asking the Plaintiff to pay electricity duty at the full rate of 0.05 per unit holding that the Plaintiff was not entitled either for exemption of electricity duty or to a reduced rate of duty. Hence the Plaintiff filed the suit for injunction restraining the defendant from realising the electricity duty as per the demands made in the said notices. The trial court dismissed the suit. The Plaintiff filed the appeal in the court of the District Judge at Kota. The learned District Judge allowed the appeal reversing the judgment and decree of the trial court and passed the decree in favour of the Plaintiff. The Defendant filed the second appeal in the High Court of Judicature for ........