JAI DEV SHARMA Vs. BSES RAJDHANI POWER LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in this writ petition is to an in spection report dated 14.3.2005, a speaking order dated 17.5.2005 and a supplementary electricity bill dated 25.5.2005 by which the petitioner has been asked to pay Rs. 2,15,750.00. The petitioner was granted a sanctioned load of 1.25 K.W. under the category "non-domestic". Upon an inspection held in the petitioner's premises by the officials of the respondent on 14.3.2005, it was found that the meter seal had been tempered. The person on the premises re- fused to sign the inspection report and a show-cause notice was issued on 25.4.2005. On behalf of the consumer one Sri B.S. Rawat attended the personal hearing and submitted that the premises had been given on rent; one tenant was using the connection for fabrication of garments and the other tenant was using as a store. The inspection team found out that a lathe machine and drill machine of rated capacity of 1.492 KW and 1.280 KW also lay unconnected on the site. It has observed that the connected load was 10.032 KW.

(2.) In the speaking order it is noted that the consumption pattern for the period 31.3.2004 to 14.3.2005 showed that consumption was not uni- form and the average recorded consumption was 40% of the assessed consumption in the corresponding period.

(3.) The first ground of challenge is that the team which went for inspection was not authorised to do so in terms of the notification dated 8.3.2004 issued by the Lt. Governor, Delhi in exercise of the power conferred by section 126 of the Electricity Act, 2003 whereby only an officer not below the rank of Junior Engineer had been given powers of an Assessing Officer in terms of that provision. A reference is also made to a similar notification in the context of section 135 of the Act. The submission is that the inspection team comprised officers who were below the rank mentioned in the notification.