K S SUSHEELA Vs. KARNATAKA ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these writ petitions presented by the Petitioners who are the owners of residential buildings constructed on revenue lands situate within the area of the Corporation of the City of Bangalore without securing permission for conversion of agricultural lands for non-agricultural purpose and without licence from the Corporation, the following question of law arises for consideration :-

(2.) The facts of the case, in brief, are as follows : Each of the petitioners in this batch of petitions has constructed a residential building on a revenue site without there being any permission for conversion of the land for non-agricultural use which is a condition precedent for constructing a building, in view of S.95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act., The petitioners have also not taken any licence from the Corporation of the City of Bangalore though the lands in question are within the limits of the Corporation of the City of Bangalore. Each of the petitioners, after constructing building applied to the Karnataka Electricity Board (the Board for short) established under the provisions of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1948. The Board called upon each of the petitioners to produce a Certificate from the Local Authority namely the Corporation of the City of Bangalore, to the effect that the construction is an authorised one. Obviously, none of the petitioners was in a position to secure and produce any such certificate for two reasons. Firstly, there has been no permission for conversion of agricultural lands for non-agricultural use. Secondly, the construction had been made without securing the licence from the Corporation in accordance with the provisions of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act and the Building Be-Laws framed thereunder. Consequently, the Board has refused to supply electric energy to the petitioners relying on Regn. 2(f) of the Electricity, Supply Regulations made by the Board. In this situation, the petitioners have presented these writ petitions questioning the validity of Regn. 2(f) of the Regulations and seeking for the issue of writ of mandamus directing the Board to supply electric energy to the residential premises of each of the petitioners.

(3.) The Electricity Board has framed the Regulation in exercise of its powers under S.79(j) of the Act. Regn. 2(f) reads :