- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Over a period of time, it was felt that the performance of the State Electricity Boards had deteriorated on account of various factors. Amongst others, the inability on the part of the State Electricity Boards to take decisions on tariffs in a professional and independent manner was one of the main drawbacks in their functioning. Cross-subsidies had reached unsustainable levels. To address this issue and to provide for distancing of governments from determination of tariffs, the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998 (hereinafter, 'the 1998 Act') was enacted in addition to the existing statutes like Indian Electricity Act, 1910 (hereinafter, 'the 1910 Act') and the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 (hereinafter, 'the 1948 Act'). For a considerable time, these three legislations remained in force, governing the electricity supply industry in India. The Boards created by the 1948 Act and the bodies created under the 1998 Act, as well as the State Governments, were provided distinct roles under these statutes. There was still overlapping of duties and some uncertainty with regard to exercise of power under these Acts. To address the issues like deterioration in performance of the Boards and the difficulties in achieving efficient discharge of functions, a better, professional and regulatory regime was introduced under the Electricity Bill, 2001, with the policy of encouraging private sector participation in generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and with the objective of distancing regulatory responsibilities from the Government by transferring the same to the Regulatory Commissions. The - need for harmonizing and rationalizing the provisions of the earlier statutes was met by creating a new, self-contained and comprehensive legislation. Another object was to bring unity in legislation and eliminate the need for the respective State Governments to pass any reform Act of their own. This Bill had progressive features and strived to strike the right balance between the economic profitability and public purpose given the current realities of the power sector in India. This Bill was put to great discussion and then emerged the Electricity Act, 2003 (for short, 'the 2003 Act'). The 2003 Act had notably provided for private sector participation, private transmission licences for rural and remote areas, stand alone systems for generation and distribution, the constitution of an Appellate Tribunal, more regulatory powers for the State Electricity Regulation Commission and provisions relating to theft of electricity. The additional provisions were introduced in the 2003 Act in relation to misuse of power and punishment of malpractices such as over-consumption of sanctioned electric load which are not covered by the provisions relating to theft; all of which had significant bearing upon the revenue focus - intended by the Legislature. This is the legislative history and objects and reasons for enacting the 2003 Act.
(3.) To ensure better regulatory, supervisory and revenue recovery system, as expressed in the objects and reasons of the 2003 Act, there was definite concerted effort in preventing unauthorized use of electricity on the one hand and theft of electricity on the other. The present case falls in the former. According to the appellant, there was breach of the terms and conditions of the Standard Agreement Form for Supply of Electrical Energy by the Grid Corporation of Orissa Ltd. (hereinafter, 'the Agreement') as the consumer (respondent herein) had consumed electricity in excess of the contracted load. FACTS;