Power company's right to recover unpaid charges lapses if unreasonable delay in issuing notice.

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....Statutory liability under the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 survives after the Electricity Act, 2003's enforcement. The limitation period u/s 56 of the 2003 Act applies to liabilities arising under that Act, not prior. Section 24 of the 1910 Act allows disconnection for non-payment without prescribing a limitation period. However, the licensee's right to claim unpaid charges lapses if notice u/s 24(1) is unreasonably delayed beyond the period for filing a recovery suit. The High Court's judgment allowing the appeal was unsustainable, and the Supreme Court set it aside, allowing the civil appeal.....