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Achhan Khan vs State of U.P.and others

Allahabad High Court · Decided on 23 May 2011 · Citation: (2011) 8 RCR(Civil) 290

HON’BLE JUDGES
S.P.Mehrotra, J and Rajesh Chandra, J
ACTS & SECTIONS REFERRED
Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 226 · Electricity Act, 2003 — Section 126, 127
RESULT
Disposed Of
CASE NUMBER
Civil Miscellaneous Writ Petition No. 24125 of 2011
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Judgment

12 paragraphs · 456 words

Rajesh Chandra, J.—The petitioner has filed the present Writ Petition, interalia, for quashing the Final Assessment Order dated 15.5.2009 (Annexure 4 to the writ petition). It appears that Smt. Amna Khatoon wife of the petitioner applied for electricity connection in the premises in question on 26.3.2009. Requisite deposit for grant of such connection was made on 30.3.2009 as per the receipt, copy whereof has been filed as Annexure 2 to the Writ Petition. On 30.3.2009 itself, checking was made in the premises in question, and theft of electricity was allegedly detected.

2.

Assessment proceedings were taken against the petitioner in view of the alleged theft of electricity and ultimately the aforesaid Final Assessment Order dated 15.5.2009 was passed by the concerned Executive Engineer.

3.

The case of the petitioner is that no copy of the said Final Assessment Order was supplied to the petitioner and it is only when the petitioner filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005, that copy of the said Final Assessment Order dated 15.5.2009 was provided to the petitioner in the month of January, 2011.

4.

We have heard Sri U.P.Srivastava, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri R.K.Srivastava holding brief for Sri Praveen Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the Respondent Nos. 2 and 3.

5.

Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003 provides that in case a Final Assessment Order is made under section 126 of the said Act, the person aggrieved may file appeal within the period mentioned in Section 127 of the Act.

6.

The petitioner has a remedy of filing appeal under section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003 against the Final Assessment Order dated 15.5.2009.

7.

In view of the above, we are of the opinion that the interest of justice would be subserved in case the Writ Petition is disposed of with the following directions :

1.Within 30 days from today, the petitioner may file an appeal under Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003 before the Appellate Authority along with a Bank Draft of an amount equal to half of the assessed amount.

2.In case such an appeal is filed before the Appellate Authority within the time mentioned above, the same will be entertained by the Appellate Authority without raising any objection on the question of limitation for filing such appeal

3.The Appellate Authority will proceed to decide the appeal expeditiously preferably within a period of two months of the filing of such appeal.

4.As regards the stay of recovery proceedings against the petitioner, it will be open to the petitioner to move appropriate application before the Appellate Authority in this regard. We are not expressing any opinion on this question.

The writ petition is accordingly disposed of with the aforesaid direction.