ASHOK TEXTILES Vs. GUJARAT ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Mr.M.D.Pandya appears and waives service of rule on behalf of respondents. With the consent of parties matter is taken up for final hearing.

(2.) The short facts of the case are that the petitioner is having electricity supply of 20 H25 HP. On 31.12.99 the petitioner observed that there is some defect in the meter and therefore intimated to the Electricity Board.Thereafter, on 5.1.2000 the inspection was carried and it was found that the meter was running slow by 50% to 75%. Thereafter, the meter was sent for testing on 13.1.2000 and the testing report was also received. The petitioner was issued the supplementary bill amounting to Rs.2,74,930.69ps and against the said supplementary bill the petitioner approached this court.

(3.) Mr.Tushar Mehta appearing for the petitioner submitted that since the whole dispute was pertaining to the slow running of the meter, the authority for deciding the same is the Electrical Inspector and it is not open for the Electricity Board to decide the dispute itself and to issue supplementary bill for six months. Mr.Mehta also relied upon the judgment of the Apex Court in the matter of MPEB vs Smt.Basantibai reported in AIR 1988 SC 71. He submitted that there is no power or authority with the Electricity Board to issue supplementary bill and he further submitted that the bonafides of the petitioner are clear in as much as the petitioner himself intimated the Board that the meter is not running properly. But having found that there is dispute pertaining to the slowness of the meter it was required for the electricity Board to refer the dispute to the Electrical Inspector and the Board of its own could not have decided to recover the amount by supplementary bill.