IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr.Misc. No.39708 of 2010 SANJAY MEHTA Versus STATE OF BIHAR ----------- 2. 01.12.2010. Heard. The quashing of proceeding has been sought on the basis of the decision of a Bench of this Court reported in 2009(3)PLJR 767 (Satyendra Rai Vrs. State of Bihar). That was a case which was under the older provisions of Section 151 of the Electricity Act, which was subsequently amended in 2007 by which two provisoes were added to the already existing provision of Section 151. By the first proviso, the courts were enabled to take cognizance of an offence punishable under the Act also upon a report of the police officer under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Thus, the earlier enability in courts of taking cognizance on the basis of the police report of facts constituting the offence was waived. The earlier provision confined the powers of the court to take cognizance of the offences only on the basis of the written complaint made by some authorities/officers as 2 indicated in the first part of Section 151 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Thus, what I find is that the decision cited before me by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner was at all not applicable as the provision was subsequently amended. The date of occurrence in the present case was 15.5.2009, much before 2007 when by Section 14 of the Amendment Act the provision of Section 151 was broadened by adding two provisoes to the earlier draft of the statute. In the above view of the matter, the petition appears of no merit and the same is dismissed. B.Kr. ( Dharnidhar Jha,J.)