NADAN SQUARE Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Can the Writ Petition challenging the imposition of penalty be pursued when once the petitioner has availed the benefit of the One Time Settlement ('OTS' for short) Scheme I heard Sri.Mohan Jacob George, Advocate on behalf of the petitioner and Sri.S.Sharan, standing counsel on behalf of the Kerala State Electricity Board ('KSEB' for short) in this writ petition.

(2.) The imposition of penalty under Section 126 of the Electricity Act, 2003 ('the Act' for short) for unauthorised use of electrical energy as affirmed in appeal is under challenge in this writ petition. The petitioner during the pendency of the writ petition however availed the benefit of the OTS Scheme which inter alia specified that 'settlement shall be done subject to the withdrawal of court cases, if any'. The petitioner ofcourse availed the OTS Scheme introduced by the KSEB without withdrawing the case by virtue of an interim order passed in the writ petition. It is now conceded that a sum of Rs. 5,21,238/- was paid under the OTS Scheme in addition to one-half of the amount demanded as penalty as a condition precedent for filing the appeal under Section 127 of the Act.

(3.) No further demand by the KSEB exists as on the date of final hearing of the writ petition or will be made in future on this count since the liability of penalty stands settled under the OTS Scheme. The petitioner by virtue of the interim order in the writ petition enabling him to claim the benefit of the OTS Scheme without prejudice to his contentions in the writ petition has thus two options. They are: