S SENTHIL KUMAR Vs. EXECUTIVE ENGINEER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY consent of both parties, the main Writ Petition itself is taken up for final disposal.

(2.) BRIEF facts leading to the Writ Petition are as follows:The Petitioners are running an industry on lease, under the name and style of M/s.Sri Adhavan Textiles, owned by Mr. P. Ranganathan. Based on the inspection made by the officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (in short TNEB-), a Complaint was lodged in Crime No.299 of 2006 by the Assistant Executive Engineer (Operation and Maintenance), TNEB, Karadivavi, Second Respondent herein, before the Sub-Inspector of Police, Sulur Police Station, Coimbatore, for an alleged offence of theft of energy. Against which, Petitioners has filed Crl.O.P.No.13688 of 2006, in which, stay of all further proceedings in Crime No.299 of 2006 was granted on 13.06.2006. Thereafter, the Second Respondent has issued a notice, dated 25.03.2006, based on the said Criminal Complaint, under Section 135(1)(b) of the Electricity Supply Act, 2003 (Act 36 of 2003). On receipt of the said notice, a reply, dated 09.06.2006, was submitted by the Petitioners and that the same was also acknowledged by the Respondents. The Petitioners attended the enquiry and contended that they have been regularly paying the current consumption charges without any default and at no point of time, the violation has been brought to their notice.

(3.) THE Second Respondent has further submitted that the tampered Seals and materials were shown to Tmt. Sridevi W/o. Senthil Kumar, who was present at that time and she neither denied nor explained about the same to the inspecting officers. Since the Seals were found tampered, the Assistant Executive Engineer, Meter Relay Test, Coimbatore, who is the Competent Authority to inspect the M.R.T. seals and the authority, who had provided those seals at the time of effecting service, was called for to confirm the status of the same and he also confirmed in his report that the seals provided in Current Transformers, Bus bar chamber and Test Terminal Block chamber were tampered and the sealing wires were cut and re-fixed with lead and wax.