(1.) THE unsuccessful Plaintiff who filed Title Suit No.63 of 1989 before the Civil Judge (Senior Divn.), Sambalpur is the Appellant before us and has assailed the judgment and decree dated 17.2.1995 and 8.3.1995 in this First Appeal.
(2.) THE plaintiff -Appellant filed the aforementioned Title Suit on the following premises. The Plaintiff is a Company carries on business of manufacturing of paper and paper board for which it has a factory at Brajarajnagar. Electricity power is necessary for the purpose of running the factory. The Plaintiff has got a captive power plant to generate electricity to meet the requirement of the factory. Apart from the self generation from the captive power plant, the Company also requires additional electric energy and buys the same from the State Electricity Board (Defendant/Respondent). Plaintiff -Company entered into agreement with the Defendant on 4.4.1969 and the agreement was substituted by another agreement on 17.6.1982. While the said agreement was subsisting and was in force, on 12.5.1978 the Central Government Finance Act came into force and some provision of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 were amended. As per the amendment electrical energy became leviable of Central Excise Duty. Defendant in such situation intimated the Plaintiff to collect the Central Excise Duty on the electrical energy consumed by the Plaintiff. Thereafter, by Notification dated 1.3.1979 of the Central Government, the Central Government exempted the levy of the Central Excise Duty on the electrical energy on the Industries which were generating their own power for self consumption. As such, the electricity produced by the Plaintiff -Company from its own captive power plant was not subject to the levy of Central Excise Duty. But in spite of the exemption the Defendant submitted bills showing Central Excise Duty on the electric energy produced by the Plaintiff -Company.
(3.) ON the basis of the aforementioned pleadings of the parties the trial Court below formulated the following