Satabdi Chakraborty v. West Bengal State Electricity

Although learned counsel for the petitioner seeks an adjournment for producing a copy of the necessary application before the civil court, if any, alleging violation of the order of the civil court, such document 3 is unnecessary, since the remedy before the civil court cannot be interdicted in any manner by this Court. In any event, in view of the specific objection of splitting of load having been taken by the Distribution Licensee, the appropriate authority under law to decide the issue of splitting of load is the concerned Grievance Redressal officer. That apart, in the present case, the remedy of the petitioner, in view of the existence of a suit, is before the civil court, for having a direction on the defendant in the said suit for restoration of the electric connection of the petitioner. In such view of the matter, W.P.A. 17353 of 2018 is disposed of by granting liberty to the petitioner to pursue appropriate remedy for restoration of electric connection in the civil suit pending before the competent civil court against the petitioner’s mother-in- law. However, in the event the petitioner has a specific objection to the allegation of apprehended splitting of load, it will also be open to the petitioner to approach the concerned Grievance Redressal Officer with such limited dispute. It is, however, clarified that neither of the remedies of the petitioner, relating to splitting of load before the Grievance Redressal Officer and restoration of connection against the mother-in-law (alleged 4 licensee) from the civil court, shall, in any manner, exclude the other. It is also made clear that this Court has not gone into the merits of the respective contentions of the petitioner and/or her mother-in-law who has not been impleaded as a party to the writ petition) with regard to their respective rights, titles and interests in the disputed property. There will be no order as to costs. Urgent photostat certified copies of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance of all necessary formalities. (Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.)