IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.916 of 2009 Meera Devi, W/o Sri Rajendra Prasad, Bundel Toli, P.O. Madhav Mills, P.S. Malsalami, Patna City, District- Patna …. Petitioner Versus 1. The Bihar State Electricity Board, Vidyut Bhawan, Bailey Road, Patna through its Chairman 2. The General Manager-cum-Chief Engineer, Patna Electric Supply Undertaking, Mangles Road, Patna 3. The Electrical Superintending Engineer, Patna Electric Supply Undertaking(East), Shivalay Market, Ashok Rajpath, Patna 4. The Electrical Executive Engineer MRT, Patna Electric Supply Undertaking (East), Patna 5. The Electrical Executive Engineer (Supply), Patna City Sub- Division, Patna 6. The Assistant Electrical Engineer (Supply), Katra, Patna City, Patna ………………. Respondents ----------- For the petitioner: Mr. Suraj Samdarshi, Advocate For the Board: Mr. Vinay Kirti Singh, Advocate. ---------- 2. 18.04.2009 The petitioner seeks quashing of the punitive bill dated 10.12.2008 amounting to Rs. 8,34,776/- and for quashing of the inspection report dated 5.12.2008 as being illegal and arbitrary. The premises of the petitioner was inspected on 5.12.2008 by a team constituted by the Electrical Executive Engineer along with other officials and the seals and the meter of the petitioner were found tampered as detailed in the inspection report dated 5.12.2008. The meter box and the tampered meter along with meter parts were wrapped in cloth cover and put under seal. Thereafter an FIR was also lodged on the same day 5.12.2008. Thereafter on 10.12.2008 the punitive bill of Rs. 8,34,776/- has been issued. Learned counsel for the petitioner, apart from various other submissions, states that the punitive bill, although no details have been given therein and is not accompanied by any provisional - 2 - assessment order, appears to have been raised for the maximum period of 12 months (365 days) as permitted by Annexure-7 to the Bihar Electricity Supply Code whereas the tampering as per the MRI reading has been found to have started from 13.9.2008 and the inspection having been done on 5.12.2008 it was for less than three months period and thus the punitive bill is prima facie more than four times on that score alone than the correct amount as per Annexure-7 of the Code, apart from other infirmities that may be there in the same but in the absence of the provisional assessment order the petitioner is unable to state anything further. Learned counsel for the Electricity Board on the basis of the counter affidavit filed by him sought to justify the action of the authorities in view of the illegal activities of the petitioner in tampering the electric meter. Be that as it may, under the terms of the Electricity Act and the Supply Code the authorities of the Board were obliged to issue a provisional assessment order with respect to the petitioner, who has a right to file his objection to the same and only thereafter a final assessment order could have been passed and other rights could have been exercised with respect to the same. That not having been done, the provisional punitive bill dated 10.12.2008 is quashed with liberty to the assessing officer to issue a provisional assessment order in terms of the provisions of the Electricity Act and the Supply Code against which the petitioner may file objections and thereafter the matter will proceed in accordance with the provisions of the Act and - 3 - the Code. The petitioner shall deposit an amount of Rs. 2 lacs (two lacs) in three instalments, the first instalment of Rs. 70,000/- to be paid on or before 30th April, 2009 and the remaining two instalments of Rs. 65000/- each on or before the last day of May and June, and on the petitioner’s producing a copy of the receipt before the authority of the Board regarding the payment of the first instalment, his electrical supply shall be restored within a period of 48 hours thereafter. The payment of any further amounts shall be according to the assessment made in terms of the Act and the Code. The writ application is accordingly disposed of with the aforesaid directions. S.Pandey (Ramesh Kumar Datta, J.)