MADHU SUDAN MITTAL Vs. JHARKHAND STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Public Interest Litigation has a chequered history.

(2.) In the year 2001, the petitioner, who is a practicing Advocate of this Court, took the cause of general people who were suffering for the last so many years because of load shedding non-supply and interrupted supply of electricity in Ranchi town as also in the entire State of Jharkhand. There had been theft of electricity, pilferage in course of transmission and unauthorized tapping of electric power. Since 2001, this Court time to time issued directions on the basis of affidavits filed by the authorities of the Electricity Board. The orders passed by this Court since 2001 can be summarized as under:

(3.) From perusal of orders, directions and observations briefly summarized herein above, it is manifest that since the creation of State of Jharkhand and the Jharkhand State Electricity Board, they have totally failed in regulating the generation, transmission and supply of electricity to the public of the State of Jharkhand more particularly in the capital town. On each and every date, the State of Jharkhand and the Board has been taking different stand to justify of the reason their inability and incompetency to run the Electricity Board. The Board mainly took the stand of non-cooperation of State Government and the Energy Department, Central Government to provide sufficient fund for purchase of electricity. On the other hand, the State of Jharkhand accepted that Board is not functioning properly and they are not in a position to generate, transmit and supply electricity to its consumers. The moot question that needs immediate consideration is as to what would be the solution in order to ensure that people of Jharkhand may not suffer anymore because of non-availability of electricity. Undisputedly, it is the statutory duty of the State of Jharkhand and the Jharkhand State Electricity Board to generate and/or purchase electricity and supply uninterrupted electricity to the consumers.