B T KOKILA Vs. CHAIRMAN, TAMILNADU ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) While some writ petitions arise out of provisional assessment orders, some writ petitions arise out of final assessment orders slapped by the Electricity Board under Regulation 23(AA) of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Supply Code. Since the issues raised in all the writ petitions, fall only under 2 or 3 categories, all the writ petitions were grouped together and taken up by me for final disposal.

(2.) The petitioners in all the writ petitions have been charged by the respondents with theft of energy. In a few cases, domestic service connections are alleged to have been used for commercial purposes. In a few cases, there are allegations of tampering of meters. In a few cases, agricultural service connections are said to have been used for non agricultural purposes. In other words, all the cases on hand, barring one or two, are cases in which proceedings under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003 , have been initiated.

(3.) In some cases, the petitioners have come up with writ petitions, immediately after provisional assessment orders were passed. In other cases, the petitioners have allowed the provisional assessment orders to be followed by final assessment orders, either after submitting or without submitting their objections to the provisional assessment orders.