AMALGAMATED ELECTRICITY CO. vs MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE, AJMER

The Supreme Court held that no notice under Section 233 of the Ajmer Merwara Municipalities Regulation, 1925, was necessary before filing a suit for recovery of surcharge by the Ajmer Electric Supply Co. The Court clarified that an illegal omission must entail penal consequences, which was not the case here as the respondent's failure to pay was based on a bona fide contention regarding the surcharge's validity. The Court upheld the trial court's decree, rejecting the High Court's grounds for setting it aside, including the claim that the surcharge was ultra vires the Bombay Electricity Surcharge Act, 1946.