New Delhi
Electricity is an essential service and a person cannot be deprived of it without a cogent and lawful reason, the Delhi high court has said.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said that authorities cannot deprive a legal occupant of electricity by insisting on a no objection certificate (NOC) from those claiming to be the owners, even when there is a dispute over the ownership of a property.
“There is no gainsaying that electricity is an essential service, of which a person cannot be deprived without cogent, lawful reason. It is well-settled that even if disputes exist as to ownership of the property at which an electricity connection is sought, the concerned authorities cannot deprive the legal occupant thereof by insisting that an NOC be furnished from others who also claim to be owners,” the court said in an order on November 14.
The observation came on a petition by two senior citizens who sought a direction to BSES Yamuna Power Limited to install a fresh electricity meter at the premises they were residing in. The petitioners had alleged that the electricity provider was seeking an NOC from the brothers of one of the petitioners, with whom they were engaged in a court case over partition of the property, to install the electricity meter.
The court, in its order, noted that the Supreme Court in a May 13 decision has said that electricity is a basic amenity and cannot be declined even to a tenant on the ground of failure/refusal of the landlord to issue an NOC, and the authority is only required to examine whether the applicant is in occupation of the premises in question.
{{/usCountry}}The court, in its order, noted that the Supreme Court in a May 13 decision has said that electricity is a basic amenity and cannot be declined even to a tenant on the ground of failure/refusal of the landlord to issue an NOC, and the authority is only required to examine whether the applicant is in occupation of the premises in question.
{{/usCountry}}Granting relief to the petitioners, the court noted that presently, they were getting electricity supply to their portion of the property as per an arrangement between the parties, but the same caused multiple disputes.
The court directed the electricity supplying authority to consider the petitioner’s application for fresh connection in accordance with law without insisting on an NOC from one of the brothers.
The court asked the authority to process the application forthwith without insisting on the NOC within two weeks and clarified that the “order shall not be construed as recognizing any possessory rights of the petitioners with regard to the subject premises”.
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