(1.) The petitioner company is engaged in the business of manufacturing cement and for this purpose had entered into an agreement with the respondent No. 3 – North Eastern Coalfields for purchase of coal. In furtherance of this purpose, the parties have entered into a Coal Supply Agreement (CSA) (termed as Fuel Supply Agreement in this petition, which term shall be used interchangeably herein) under the terms and conditions set therein.
(2.) The petitioner on being asked by the respondent No. 4 to furnish a bank guarantee for an amount equal to 10% of the notified based price of the annual coal requirement for issuance of Letter of Assurance (LOA) has furnished a bank guarantee for an amount of Rs.1,03,86,000.00 (Rupees one crore, three lakhs, eighty-six thousand) only in favour of respondent No. 3 vide guarantee dtd. 27/3/2012 issued by the State Bank of India, Commercial Branch, Kolkata.
(3.) Vide letter dtd. 27/2/2011 the respondent No. 5 informed the petitioner of the notification dtd. 26/2/2011 issued by the Coal India Limited notifying to the effect that the coal produced by the respondent No. 3 has increased in value and if the petitioner wants its coal to be delivered, it has to agree to the revised price and to pay the differential amount. It is stated that such increase in price was more than 60% than what was agreed upon at the time when the CSA was executed.