THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P.S. NARAYANA W.P.No.1629 of 2006 Date : 19-1-2010 Between : Mir Asghar Ali s/o. late Mir Mustafa Ali .. Petitioner And A.P. Transco Vigilance & APTS, Team-1, Hyderabad, represented by its Inspector, situate at Vidyut Soudha, Hyderabad. .. Respondent THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P.S. NARAYANA W.P.No.1629 of 2006 ORDER: 1. This Court ordered rule nisi on 1-2-2006 and in W.P.M.P.No.1970/2006, this Court made the following order: “The respondent is directed to restore power supply to the consumer meter No.1006718 at the petitioner house subject to payment of arrears, if any. But, however, this order will not preclude the respondent to take appropriate action for issuance of the show cause notice and for collection of pilferage charges in accordance with law.” It is stated that the power supply had been restored and no further steps had been taken. 2. The Writ Petition is filed for a writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondent in disconnecting the Electricity Connection Consumer Meter No.N1006718 of the petitioner’s house as illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional. 3. Counter affidavit had been filed by the respondent. 4. The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner purchased property bearing Municipal No.22-7-526/5, admeasuring about 51.00 sq. yards situated at Hussainabad, Kamalayarjung Lane, behind Matamkada Hussaini, Mandi Mir Alam, Hyderabad from Syed Ali Mohammed Hussain under a registered sale deed No.337/05 on 7-3- 2005. The petitioner paid the total sale consideration and also got the vacant physical possession of the said property only on 7-3-2005 from his vendor. It is further stated that in pursuance of the said sale transaction, the petitioner applied for electricity connection in his name with the respondent and the respondent had allotted Electricity Consumer Connection Meter No.N1006718. The petitioner paid the bills till date in respect of the consumption of the electricity to the respondent and as on today there are no dues whatsoever to be paid. 5. It is also further stated that the respondent secured my presence on 3-11-2005 under the guise of investigation in F.I.R.No.2940/04 dated 30-9-2004 said to have been issued against one Mr.Ansari s/o.Mir KamaAli and the petitioner was called to the police station and was harassed the entire day. The petitioner came to know that the said F.I.R. was issued for the theft of electricity in respect of different house numbers and different Electricity meter consumer with which the petitioner is no way concerned either with his house or his Electricity Meter Consumer Number. It is also further stated that the petitioner filed W.P.No.24196/2005 before this Court as against the F.I.R. and this Court was pleased to dispose of the said Writ Petition on 14-11-2005 with the following directions: “Having regard to the above facts and circumstances of the case, the Writ Petition is disposed of directing the respondent not to harass or not to take coercive steps against the petitioner in connection with the said F.I.R., if he is not the accused and if no F.I.R. is pending against him. No costs”. Be that as it may, on 25-1-2006, the respondent came along with 8 to 10 officials and highhandedly disconnected the electricity without issuing any notice whatsoever and the petitioner’s best efforts to know his fault also had not fructified. It is further stated that the petitioner ran helter-skelter to all the Departments in vain. The petitioner got a notice issued on 27-1-2006 calling upon the respondent to reconnect the electricity to his meter No.N1006718 but there was no response whatsoever. Further it is stated that the petitioner is not due any amount to the respondent and the petitioner lastly paid electricity bill in the month of November 2005 and thereafter the petitioner had been demanding for the bill but for the reasons best known he was not issued any bills. It is also further stated that the petitioner is ready to pay the electricity bill arrears if any with respect to his meter and further stated that the disconnection of the electricity without any cause or without any notice is illegal, arbitrary, high-handed and amounts to violation of natural justice and also violative of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. The officials of the respondent deprived the petitioner of electricity as a step to take vengeance and as a personal vendetta as the petitioner had filed W.P.No.24196/2005 against the respondent’s coercive, harsh and illegal steps for declining the petitioner and therefore the officials of the respondent are responsible to pay damages and are also liable for their criminal acts perpetrated against the petitioner. 6. In the counter affidavit filed, no doubt the episode of Mr.Ansari had been referred to but however specific stand had been taken that the electricity supply had not been disconnected to the petitioner’s house. Further specific stand had been taken that the petitioner was not called to the police station and the petitioner was never detained. In para-5 of the counter affidavit further it had been averred that electricity supply to the premises bearing door No.22-7- 526/5 had not been disconnected. 7. Inasmuch as by virtue of the interim order, power supply already had been restored and also in the light of the specific stand taken both in paras 4 and 5 of the counter affidavit to the effect that they had never disconnected the power supply to the house of the petitioner, no further orders need be passed and the Writ Petition is disposed of in the light of the interim direction to the extent of restoration of power supply. No costs. _________________ Justice P.S. Narayana Date : 19-1-2010 AM