This writ petition challenges electricity dues recovery orders after a fire allegedly destroyed the petitioner's premises. The High Court directed an enquiry to fix actual liability and stayed coercive recovery.
Order to convene a meeting within six weeks to fix actual liability; stay on coercive recovery steps till enquiry completion.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
Court No. - 29
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 32396 of 2019
Petitioner :- Ajit Kumar Yadav Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Arjun Singh Yadav Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Mahboob Ahmad
Hon'ble Pankaj Mithal,J. Hon'ble Vivek Agarwal,J.
The dispute is regarding the recovery citation dated 22.08.2019 where-under a sum of Rs.8,16,890/- are being recovered from the petitioner as electricity dues.
The argument of learned counsel for the petitioner is that on account of the fire in the year 2012 the entire premises was destroyed and that the petitioner has not consumed any electricity thereafter.
Sri Mahboob Ahmad, learned counsel appearing for the respondent No.4 was given time to seek instruction in the matter. According to his instructions a fresh meter was installed in the premises of the petitioner after the fire but there appears to be a serious dispute with regard to the consumption of electricity by the petitioner and the matter on enquiry went up even upto the Superintendent Engineer but till date nothing final has come out except that as the mater installed was not found, an FIR has been lodged against the petitioner.
In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances in the fitness of thing, we consider it appropriate to direct the Chief Engineer Electricity Distribution Division Allahabad Zone to convene a meeting of the Officers and that of the petitioner so as to sort the issue finally and fix the actual liability of any upon the petitioner.
The aforesaid exercise may be completed by the Chief Engineer within six weeks.
Sri Mahboob Ahmad, learned counsel appearing for the respondent No.4 may request the Executive Engineer to convey this order to the Chief Engineer and to undertake the necessary exercise.
It is further directed till the completion of the above enquiry no coercive steps shall be taken against the
petitioner so as to recover any amount pursuant to the impugned citation.
The Writ Petition is disposed of .
Order Date :- 1.11.2019 piyush
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the petitioner's claim of zero consumption post-fire requires a factual enquiry to fix actual liability and suspend coercive recovery.
How to determine actual liability for electricity dues disputed due to alleged loss of premises in a fire.
Ajit Kumar Yadav
State Of U.P.
3 Others
Pankaj Mithal
Vivek Agarwal
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
