Century Rayon Limited vs Ivp Limited

3. The appellant – Century Rayon Limited, who is also a defendant in the suit, is a company engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of chemicals and has its plant at village Mohane, Taluka Kalyan, District Thane. The aforesaid electricity transmission towers are being constructed on the application dated 2 nd May 2016 made by the appellant to the MSEDC for Line In Line Out (LILO) on 100 KV MohaneꟷAmbernath DC TL. Thereupon, the sanction was granted by the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd (‘MSETCL’ for short) vide letter 24 th May 2017 subject to various terms and conditions including that the right to way problem for laying of line is to be sorted out by the appellant at its cost.

6. There were certain lapses on the part of the MSETCL/MSEDC and the appellant, as has been noticed in the impugned order, on account of the failure to take necessary permission from the District Magistrate when there was obstruction and objection to the work of erecting the electricity transmission towers on the first respondent’s land. However, it is an accepted and admitted position that pursuant to the interim order passed by the first appellate court on 25th April 2018, the appellant had initiated appropriate proceedings through licensing authority before the District Magistrate, Thane and thereupon vide order dated 28 th August 2018 necessary permission for erection of the towers and setting up transmission line has been granted subject to payment of compensation to the first respondent in terms of Section 16(1) to Section 16(4) read with Section 10 of the Telegraph Act. It is Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 6243 of 2019 Page 3 of 11 correct that the interim order dated 25th April 2018 was set aside by the Bombay High Court vide order dated 17 th May 2018, albeit it is an accepted position that as a matter of fact the electricity transmission towers on the land of the first respondent have already been constructed. Therefore, and in a way, the MSEDC is already using the land of the first respondent. The appellant has highlighted and the MSEDC affirms that 80% of the work of laying the transmission line is already over and but for the injunction order under challenge the transmission line would have been activated and operationalised. Clearly, therefore, the balance of convenience does not justify passing of an interim injunction order in favour of the first respondent. It is also accepted that the District Magistrate, Thane vide order dated 28 th August 2018 has granted the necessary permission for erection of the towers and setting up of the transmission line on the land of the first respondent. The relevant portion of this order, which has not been set aside, reads as under:

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10. We are, therefore, inclined to set aside the impugned order as also the injunction order subject to the appellant making an ad hoc payment of Rs. 20,00,000/- (rupees twenty lakhs only) in addition to the payments already made. On the said payment Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 6243 of 2019 Page 10 of 11 being made to the first respondent, the MSEDC and their contractors would be entitled to continue and complete the work of erection of the electricity transmission towers on the land of the first respondent. The payment made would be subject to the outcome of the civil suit or the proceedings under the Telegraph Act for quantifying the compensation payable to the first respondent.

11. The appeal is allowed in the aforesaid terms without any order as to costs. All pending applications stand disposed of.

NOVEMBER 27, 2019.

Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 6243 of 2019 Page 11 of 11