ASSAM STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. RAJEN KALITA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A suit was filed being Title Suit No. 223/ 96 before the Learned Sadar Munsiff at Guwahati. The suit was for ejectment and permanent injunction.

(2.) The plaintiff comes from the poor strata of the society and he is a fourth grade employee of Assam Engineering College. By taking loan from the authority he purchased 2 Kathas of land covered by KP Patta No. 84 and Dag No. 191 of Village Maj-Jalukbari under Jalukbari Mouza in the year 1988 vide Registered Deed No. 2356 of 1988. After purchase of the land he developed the same, in the year 1991, the plaintiff constructed a Assam Type residential house over the portion of the land towards the west. It is stated in paragraph 2 of the plaint that a high tension Transmission Electric line passes by the southern boundary side of the plaintiff's said land. The said high tension line is being drawn from the east to west and from this line several distribution lines have been drawn in the different places for supply of electricity to the individuals consumers in the Jalukbari and Maligaon area. The defendant No. 3. The Sub- Divisional Engineer of the ASEB installed a pucca post in his land on 3.2.92 and drew an overhead High Voltage distribution line from the said main transmission line across the middle portion of the plaintiff's land without his consent. The distribution line crosses about 85 ft. length of the plaintiff's land and goes straight towards the Jalukbari Engineering College road on the North. The distribution line is drawn from South to North across the plaintiff's land and is connected with transformer installed by the side of the said College Road. The plaintiff vehemently objected the drawal of high tension line on his land and the plaintiff has said that it will cause substantial loss and damage to his land besides causing constant apprehension of serious danger to his residential house. Inspite of the objection the authority proceeded with the matter on the said line which is passing at just 5 Ft. distance from the plaintiff's house. The plaintiff was given the impression that it is a temporary line and it will be shifted soon from the land. But there was no initiative from the defendant to shift the line. The plaintiff has not been paid any compensation nor the ASEB authority obtained any consent from the plaintiff and/or acquired the land from the plaintiff. The ASEB authority has forcibly and illegally interferred with the plaintiff's property. It is stated in paragraph 8 that the ASEB authority can easily shift the said line from the area and there is no any hurdle in doing so. He further pointed out that there is a village private patta of 16 ft. wide commencing from the Assam Engineering College Road, over which the line ban be drawn. In paragraph 9 it is stated that this line which was drawn over the land of the plaintiff came down due to cyclonic wind causing danger to the life and property of the plaintiff. The post was on the land of the plaintiff and it was partly damaged by the cyclone and there was a request from the plaintiff at that time to shift the post from the land of the plaintiff but inspite of doing that the authority on 1.6.96 alongwith the help of the police repaired the post and cut down several coconut trees standing nearby place and it was directed to the plaintiff to shift his house nearby the said distribution line. There was even a threat that the authority shall demolish his house. It is interalia out these allegations that this suit was filed with the following prayers: i) Ejectment of the defendant by way of removing the electric line and post from the suit land. ii) Mandatory injunction directing the defendants to remove/withdraw/shift the unauthorised overhead electric line drawn across the middle portion of the plaintiff's land and electric post installed over his land.

(3.) A written statement was filed by the defendant and in the written statement the defendants has taken up the defence that they have the right to draw the line and place the post under the Electricity Act of 1910 and Electricity Act of 1948. Alongwith the plaint an application was filed under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 of the CPC and Section 39 of the Specific Relief Act for a mandatory injunction with the prayer directing the defendant to remove/withdraw/shift unauthorised electric line drawn therein across the middle portion of the plaintiff's land and the electric post installed over the land be removed till the disposal of the suit.