DIVISIONAL MANAGER (COLLIERIES Vs. ASSTT ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Divisional Manager (Collieries) of 'the Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'TISCO') is the petitioner, in the instant writ petition. The Respondent No. 4 is the Bihar State Electricity Board while Respondents 1 to 3 are its officers. Respondent No. 5 is the State of Bihar.

(2.) The petitioner has challenged the legality of two communications addressed to him being Annexures 3 and 3/a, whereby the petitioner has been called upon to pay an amount of Rs. 13,81,485.12 paise as audit charges, failing which thereat of disconnection has been held out. What has been described as audit charges is really claimed to be the arrears of electricity charges for the period from April, 1974 to December, 1978. The respondents claim that the bills sent earlier had to be revised since they had been submitted erroneously, and it has now been found that the petitioner was liable to pay a much higher amount. The communications, Annexures 3 and 3 (a) are dated 8th March, 1979. On the other hand, the petitioner contends that the demand is wholly illegal and arbitrary, and there is no legal basis of justification whatsoever for the said demand.

(3.) The relevant facts of this case are not in dispute. TISCO is a public limited Company and the writ petition has been presented by the Divisional Manager of TISCO if incharge of its collieries. TISCO is a lessee of a few captive mines in Jharia coalfield area. To provide accommodation to its employees, TISCO has constructed a large number of resinetal quarters for its workers and staff. Each quarter is supplied electrical energy by the Respondent -Board, and for this purpose each quarter is fitted separately with an electric meter which has been installed separately to record the quantity of electrical energy consumed by each occupant of the quarter. The bills are required to be raised by the respondent -Board on the basis of meter reading of each quarter separately. According to the petitioner, the residents of the quarters are the consumers, and each one of them is liable to pay the charges of electrical energy actually consumed by them as per meter reading.