Electricity an essential service; can't be denied without cogent, lawful reason: Delhi HC
New Delhi, Nov 17: 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.
The court stated that even when there is a dispute over the ownership of a property, the authorities cannot deprive its legal occupant of electricity by insisting on a no objection certificate (NOC) from those claiming to be the owners.
"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," said Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri in an order dated November 14.
The court's observation came on a petition by two senior citizens who sought a direction to BSES-YPL to install a fresh electricity metre at the premises they were residing in.
It was the petitioners' grievance that to install the metre, BSES-YPL 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.
The court noted that presently, the petitioners 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, in its order, noted that the Supreme Court has said in a decision 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 no objection certificate and the authority is only required to examine whether the applicant is in occupation of the premises in question.
The electricity supplying authority, in the present case, told the court that it would consider the petitioners' application for fresh connection in accordance with law, without insisting on an NOC for 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".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
