In Brief
Shanti Conductors supplied electrical conductors to Assam State Electricity Board under orders placed in March and May 1992. Supplies were completed in October 1993, and full payment received in March 1994. The supplier sued in 1997 for interest under the Interest on Delayed Payment to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings Act, 1993 (effective 23.09.1992). The High Court dismissed the suit, holding the Act did not apply to pre-commencement contracts. The Supreme Court split. The majority held the Act is retroactive—the test is delivery date, not contract date. Since delivery occurred after the Act commenced, the Act applies. The minority upheld prior precedent that the Act is prospective only. The appeals were partly allowed and dismissed respectively.
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