- (1.) The nine petitioners in this Article 226 petition dated April 23, 2010 are seeking the following principal relief:- "(a) a writ in the nature of mandamus, commanding the respondent authority to take steps for removal of installed meter from the structure stated hereinafter."
(2.) The petitioners claiming to be the heirs and legal representatives of one Ajodhya Nath Maity submitted a representation dated August 14, 2006 describing it as:- "An appeal for Surrender the Meter No. 3709498 and Present Additional Meter No. 0388696 & Consumer No. 51178036004 at Mouza-Sodepure, J.L No.-8, Touzi No. 194, R.S. Dag No. 273, R.S. Khatian No. 453/2, Holding No. 46 and Ward No. 13 under Panihati Municipality at 147, Nilgunj Road, Sodepur, 24-Parganas (North)." By the representation the petitioners requested the District Engineer, North Suburban Division of CESC to accept their decision to surrender the two meters. Alleging that CESC did not accept their offer to surrender the meters, they brought this petition around four years after making the representation. Counsel for the petitioners submits that since the consumer of the supply through the Meter No.3709498 was the petitioners' deceased mother (Prativa Rani Maity) who had let out a portion of her property to one Shanti Sengupta using whose name someone obtained the additional Meter No. 0388696 suppressing the fact that Shanti had died as back as 1997, CESC was under an obligation to accept the petitioners' decision to surrender the meters and remove the service lines and other installations from the premises.
(3.) There is nothing to support the petitioners' claim that their deceased mother was the consumer of the supply through the Meter No.3709498. On the contrary, CESC has produced a departmental letter dated September 10, 2010 clearly recording therein that Shanti is the recorded consumer of the supply. Admittedly, neither the petitioners are nor was their deceased mother the consumer of the supply through the other meter. There is no provision in the Electricity Act, 2003 or in the regulations made thereunder dealing with the subject of surrender of a meter. The provisions of the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (Electricity Supply Code) Regulations, 2007, however, provide for disconnection of supply on certain grounds, and one of them is: "Disconnection on request" under Reg. 4.4.1.;