The Hon’ble Sri Justice R.Subhash Reddy Writ Petition No.4025 of 2003 Order: The petitioner, who is the proprietor of a commercial establishment, filed this Writ Petition seeking direction to the Special Court constituted under the Indian Electricity (A.P.Amendment) Act, 2000 (for short ‘the 2000 Act’) to decide the validity of demand notice, dated 03-04-1997, issued in Lr.No.ADE/C & O/ADB/T/TE/D.No.5/97 and to declare the said notice as illegal and arbitrary. Petitioner, who is running a hotel near market area of Adilabad Town, was being supplied electricity vide service connection bearing No.13041 and the same was inspected by the officials of the respondent-Electricity Board during March, 1997. Alleging that the petitioner has deliberately meddled with the electricity meter connection to record low consumption, the officials of the respondent-Electricity Board have provisionally assessed the loss of energy and issued the impugned notice demanding an amount of Rs.1,83,569/- towards pilferage charges and further amount of Rs.91,709-25 paise for restoration of the electricity supply. Disputing the said provisional assessment, the petitioner filed a complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum and the same was allowed directing the respondents-Electricity Board to revise the impugned notice. As against the same, the respondents preferred an appeal in F.A.No.796 of 1998 before the A.P.State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and the same was allowed vide order, dated 02-12-2002, on the ground that the petitioner cannot be held to be a consumer and as such, the complaint filed by him was not maintainable. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner moved an application before the Special Court constituted under the 2000 Act to decide the dispute, but the said Court vide docket order, dated 13-02-2003, rejected the same on the ground that the case against the petitioner was registered prior to enforcement of the provisions of the 2000 Act and that the cases, which arose prior to the amendment, are to be tried as per the procedure which was in vogue at that time and that the Special Court has no jurisdiction to try the said case. Hence, the petitioner filed this Writ Petition. When the Writ Petition has come up for hearing on the last occasion, the learned Standing Counsel for the respondents-Electricity Board was directed to obtain instructions as to whether any final orders were passed after provisional assessment proceedings. When the matter is taken up today, it is submitted by the learned Standing Counsel that in view of pendency of this Writ Petition, no final orders have yet been passed. It is further submitted that during pendency of the proceedings before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, the petitioner has deposited an amount of Rs.30,000/- in two different spells and in view of the interim order passed by this Court, electricity supply is being continued to the petitioner. Though the petitioner seeks direction for adjudication of the dispute by the Special Court, it is to be noticed that the notice in question is only a provisional assessment notice and no final assessment proceedings have yet been issued against the petitioner as per the terms and conditions of supply framed under the Electricity Supply Act, 1948. The objections, if any, for the impugned demand notice, can be raised before the final assessment proceedings are completed. At this stage, the petitioner cannot seek direction to the Special Court for adjudication of the dispute. Taking into account the pendency of the final assessment proceedings and also payment of an amount of Rs.30,000/- by the petitioner during pendency of complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, I deem it appropriate to dispose of the Writ Petition with a direction to the respondents to complete the final assessment proceedings as expeditiously as possible, preferably, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this Order. The respondents are further directed not to take any coercive steps for disconnection of power supply to the petitioner’s establishment till completion of final assessment proceedings subject to the petitioner depositing a further amount of Rs.15,000/- within a period of six weeks from today. However, it is made clear that payment of Rs.15,000/- is in addition to the regular electricity consumption charges, which are otherwise payable by the petitioner. Subject to the above directions, the Writ Petition is disposed of. No order as to costs. _________________ R.Subhash Reddy, J Dated 29th October, 2009 lur