HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD WRIT - C No. - 55402 of 2013 Court No. - 21 HON'BLE MANOJ KUMAR GUPTA, J. HON'BLE ARUN KUMAR, J. 1. The instant petition has been filed praying for quashing of the electricity bills dated 24.04.2013, 30.04.2013, 15.07.2013, 22.06.2013, 20.05.2013, 18.06.2013, 15.06.2013, 20.05.2013, 24.05.2013, 18.01.2013, 15.06.2013 and 15.06.2013 to the extent it required the petitioners to deposit electricity duty in terms of Office Memorandum dated 07.01.2013 and for a declaration that withdrawal of rebate in electricity duty was against the spirit of Industrial Policy, 2004 and Gazette Notification dated 21.01.2010. 2. The petitioners concerned were granted electricity connection between 2006 and 2009 with contracted load of 250 K.V.A. On 21.01.2010, the State Government issued a notification granting exemption of electricity duty to all huge industrial units for a period of ten years. However, the respondent no. 3, did not grant the exemption to the petitioners, as the department was of the opinion that the exemption in electricity duty was permissible only to those consumers who were granted electricity connection after the date of issuance of the notification i.e. 21.01.2010. Aggrieved by the aforesaid decision, the instant petition has been filed. Learned counsel for the petitioners has placed reliance on a judgement of Supreme Court in Gallantt Ispat Ltd. v. State of U.P. and others connected with Sarvottam Rolling Mills Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. and others decided on 11.08.2017 in contending that the benefit of exemption in electricity duty in terms of the Notification dated 21.01.2010 was also Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Bidhan Chandra Rai Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C. Purvanchal Cold Storage And Ice Industries Pvt. Ltd.And 11 Ors .....Petitioner(s) State Of U.P. And 5 Others .....Respondent(s) to be granted to those units who were established prior to the notification but the benefit would be allowable from the date of the notification. It is submitted that the aforesaid view was taken by the Supreme Court having regard to the fact that such a benefit was promised in the industrial policy of the State Government of the year 2004 and on basis of the representation made out in the said notification, large number of industrial units were set up in the State. Such units were held entitled to benefit of the promise made in the industrial policy albeit from the date, the notification was issued and not for any period prior to that. Learned counsel for the respondent-Electricity Department is not in a position to controvert the aforesaid legal position. We have gone through the judgement of the Supreme Court and we find that the case of the petitioners is squarely covered by the said judgement. The relevant observations from the said judgement is as follows :- "5. The High Court has taken the view that the appellant would not be entitled to any benefit under the said notification. We cannot agree. While it is correct that the benefit of exemption is required to be made by the exercise of the statutory power under the Act, which came in the form of the notification dated 21.01.2010, what cannot escape our attention is the fact that the appellant's case before the High Court was that he has established his unit, inter alia, on the strength of the representation held out in the Industrial Policy which came to be given effect to by notification dated 21.01.2010. There is no dispute on the said fact. 6. If that is so, the appellant on the basis of the representation held out by the State would be entitled to the benefit of the said notification for the period for which exemption has been promised, commencing from the date of the notification. The benefit under the Industrial Policy of 2004 will become available to all eligible units not from the date of establishment of the unit but with effect from the date of issuance of the requisite notification under the Act which came to be issued on 21.01.2010." In the result, the petition succeeds and is allowed. The demand for electricity duty as contained in the Electricity Bills dated 24.04.2013, 30.04.2013, 15.07.2013, 22.06.2013, 20.05.2013, 18.06.2013, 15.06.2013, WRIC No. 55402 of 2013 2 20.05.2013, 24.05.2013, 18.01.2013, 15.06.2013 and 15.06.2013 is hereby quashed. In case, any amount has been recovered by the Electricity Department from the petitioners towards electricity duty after the date of issuance of notification dated 21.01.2010, it shall be refunded/adjusted in accordance with law. September 18, 2025 A. Mandhani WRIC No. 55402 of 2013 3 (Arun Kumar,J.) (Manoj Kumar Gupta,J.) Digitally signed by :- ABHISHEK MANDHANI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad