ASOK DE Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application for cancellation of bail under Section 439(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and order dated 26.08.2019 passed by the learned Judge, Special Court (Essential Commodities Act)-cum-learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, Alipore, South 24 Parganas in Criminal Misc. Case No. 5158 of 2019 thereby granting anticipatory bail to the opposite party no. 2 in connection with Electricity Case No. 375 of 2019 corresponding to Ekbalpore Police Station Case No. 221 of 2019 dated 13.06.2019 under Sections 135/138 of the Electricity Act, 2003 and thereby granting bail to the opposite party no. 2 under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

(2.) The brief facts of the case is that on the basis of a credible source information, the petitioner herein along with other officers of CESC Limited visited 18/2/H/12, Mominpur Road, Kolkata-700023 and detected unauthorized abstraction of electricity by means of hooking from CESC Limited's LT Service cut out thereby causing huge loss of revenue to CESC Limited as well as endangering human lives and properties. From local enquiry it was further revealed that the opposite party no. 2 was the master mind behind such illegal act and he was illegally abstracting electricity not only for his own domestic purpose but also he was distributing the same to the locality in exchange of money, for his unlawful gain, thereby causing wrongful loss to the CESC Limited.

(3.) After inspection, the hooking wire/cable was disconnected from the concerned CESC Limited's LT Service cut out and portion of the hooking wire/cable was seized at the concerned place of occurrence after observing all legal formalities of seizure in presence of local representative and local people. Sketch map of the place of occurrence was also prepared, photographs were taken for capturing the evidence of illegal abstraction of electricity on due compliance of statutory formalities during the entire process and substantial loss to CESC Limited was assessed provisionally and then finally in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, upon fulfilling all statutory formalities, procedure as prescribed in the said Act.