IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE THIRTY FIRST DAY OF MARCH TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH WRIT PETITION NO : 15801 of 2001 Between: M/s. Evershine Granites (Pvt) Ltd., Rep. by its Mg.Director Munvar Basha, Laksmipuram, Kuppam, Chittoor District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 Southern Power Distribution Company of A.P. Ltd., Chittoor, Rep. by its Managing Director, Holding his Office at Tirupati, Chittoor District. 2 The Divisional Engineer (Operation), Southern Power Distribution Company of A.P. Limited, Having Office at Chittoor. 3 The Kuppam Ruaral Electric Co-operative Society Ltd., Rep. by its Managing Director, Kuppam, Chittoor District. .....RESPONDENT(S) Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to to issue any order, direction or writ more particularly in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the Respondents in forcing the Unit of Petitioner to convert LT Category into HT Category or to face threats of disconnection through proceedings of 21nd Respondent in Lr.No.DE/O/Tech/F.Doc./D.No.5138/2001, dt. 21.7.2001 (Ex.P1) and 3rd Respondent in proceedings Lr.No.MD/KRECS/acct-Rev/F.No.525-16/D.No.597, dt. 7.7.2001 (Ex.P2) as illegal, arbitrary, violative of principles of natural justice and violative of Arts.19,21 and 309 of Constitution of India and consequently directing the Respondents to supply electricity power supply to the Unit of Petitioner under LT Category-IIIB-Industrial-Optional Category for which the Unit of petitioner is prepared to comply with necessary formalities pass appropriate orders. Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.K.S.GOPALA KRISHNAN Counsel for the Respondent No.: MR.K.N.JWALA HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V. ESWARAIAH WRIT PETITION NO. 15801 OF 2001 ORAL ORDER: Petitioner in this Writ Petition questions the proceedings of the second respondent- Divisional Engineer (Operation) dated 21.7.2001 and the proceedings of the third respondent dated 7.7.2001. The second respondent by the said proceedings- dated 21.7.2001 called upon the petitioner to arrange for clubbing of LT Cat III Services into HT Service as all the connections are situated in the same premises vide Service Nos. 127, 128, 134 and 353 and otherwise they will be disconnected. It is also stated that in spite of issuing three months notice earlier for clubbing of LT Cat III (B) service, the petitioner has not taken any action. The letter of the third respondent is also to the effect that petitioner has to club all the L.T Industrial Services to H.T. Service on or before 4.8.2001 failing which, service connection will be disconnected. None appears for the respondents. Brief facts of the case are that the Unit of the Petitioner is a bona fide small scale industry, engaged in the process of cutting, polishing granites etc., with industrial electric power supply bearing S.C.Nos. 127, 128, 134 and 353. Due to expansion of the business of the petitioner in the course of time, service connections were added one after another by the Board and therefore, the entire service connections were not obtained at a single instance. In view of sanction of the additional service connections, the connected load of the petitioner’s Unit exceeded 75 HP. It is stated that the petitioner sustained loss for want of funds and therefore, the petitioner is unable to convert LT Category supply into HT Category and made a representation requesting to continue to pay HT rates under LT Category- IIIB Industrial (Optional), to the second and third respondents, so as to avail certain tax benefits on the Unit of the petitioner, as the petitioner is willing to pay HT charges on all the four service connections. A counter affidavit has been filed stating that all the aforesaid connections in S.C.No. 127,128,134 and 353 have been released on 23.7.1979, 27.3.1979, 15.5.1980 and 25.8.1983 respectively, with the contracted load of 35HP, 60HP, 30HP, and 70HP and connected load of 31H.P, 43.5HP, 30 HP and 70HP and thus the petitioner’s firm has contracted load of 195 HP and all the four services are connected to the various machines fixed with the connected load of 174.5 H.P. It is not in dispute that all the four machines are situated in one premises. It is stated that the owner of all the units is one and the same and if the three connections are clubbed together the contracted load is 640 H.P. and therefore, as per Clause 27 of APSEB terms and conditions of supply the LT services are liable to be clubbed together as the contracted load is 100 HT. It is stated that as per Clause 27 of the A.P.S.E.B Terms and Conditions, the reliable services two or more especially situated in a single premises owned or leased by the same person and requiring electricity for purposes covered under same category will be treated as single establishment and that be so, the petitioner is liable to take HT service but not LT services. Therefore, it is stated that the aforesaid proceedings have been issued after giving reasonable opportunity. In view of the above, I am of the opinion that the respondents have rightly taken action treating it as the one HT services and accordingly, the third respondent clubbed all the four service connections and issued HT Service No.1 and started collecting HT tariff rates from the petitioner since September 1997 onwards. But subsequently, aggrieved by the said order, petitioner preferred this Writ Petition and this Court granted conditional interim direction on 2.8.2001. Having paid the HT category charges since 1997, there cannot be any justification on the part of the petitioner to question the action of the respondents in 2001. Hence, I do not see any merits in the Writ Petition and accordingly, the same is dismissed. No order as to costs. ____________________ V. ESWARAIAH, J Date: 31.03.2008 KA ..... REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1 Southern Power Distribution Company of A.P. Ltd., Chittoor, Rep. by its Managing Director, Holding his Office at Tirupati, Chittoor District. 2 The Divisional Engineer (Operation), Southern Power Distribution Company of A.P. Limited, Having Office at Chittoor. 3 The Kuppam Ruaral Electric Co-operative Society Ltd., Rep. by its Managing Director, Kuppam, Chittoor District. 4. 2CCs to G.P. for Medical, Health and Family Welfare, High Court of A.P. , Hyderabad. 5. 2CD copies