N. MOHAMED KANI Vs. SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU ELECTRICITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is running Garment business, at Door No.23, Ranganathan Street, T.Nagar, Chennai 61. Electricity Service Connection No.181 32 18, has been disconnected due to non payment of Current Consumption Charges. He has filed this present writ petition, for a Mandamus, directing the Assistant Engineer, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, T.Nagar, Chennai 17,

(2.) ND respondent herein, to assess the correct electricity consumption charges, to the service connection, for the period from 20.03.2013 to May 2013, as contemplated in Rule 11(2) of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Supply Code, 2004. 2. According to the petitioner, he is regular in payment of Current Consumption Charges. That on 19.03.2013, while calculating the same, an employee of the respondents Board, informed the petitioner that the electric meter defective. Therefore, he made a representation on 20.03.2013 to the 2nd respondent, to change the electric meter. Accordingly, a new meter was fixed on 06.06.2013. While that be so, on 20.07.2013, some other employee of the Electricity Board informed the petitioner that he has to pay Rs.1,67,794/ , as Current Consumption Charges, for the period from January' 2012 to May' 2013. According to him, the respondents have taken the average Current Consumption Charges at Rs.3,420/ and arbitrarily, assessed the same, for the abovesaid period, totalling Rs.1,67,794/ .

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner further submitted that as per Regulation 11(2) of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Supply Code, 2004, 2003, the quantity of electricity supplied during the period in question shall be determined by taking the average of the electricity supplied during the preceding four months, in respect of both High Tension service connections and Low Tension service connections provided that the conditions in regard to use of electricity during the said four months were not different from those which prevailed during the period in question.