JOYMALYA BAGCHI,J. - (1.) THE petitioners have moved the instant writ petition, inter alia, praying that electric meter bearing No. 4324268 installed in the ground floor of the premises No. 16, Hamanta Basu Sarani, Kolkata � 700 069 (hereinafter referred to as "the said premises ") by the respondent no. 1 electric company in the name of the respondent no. 7 be forthwith removed. The petitioner no. 1 is a registered society and the petitioner no. 2 is the president of the said society.
(2.) THE petitioners have pleaded that the petitioners on or about 18th September, 2010 were informed by its security guards that a new electric meter bearing no. 4324268 has been installed in the ground floor of the said premises in favour of the respondent no. 7. The petitioners upon enquiry came to know that the respondent no. 7 claiming himself to be a tenant under M/s. S. Sirkar and Company Pvt. Ltd. had applied for electric meter in the said premises and pursuant to such application, the respondent no. 1 electric company had provided the electric connection. It is further the contention of the petitioners that the documents used and/or utilized by the petitioners, namely, rent receipt, issued by M/s. S. Sirkar and Company Pvt. Ltd. was forged and fabricated and the other document namely, trade license for the year 2010-11 dated 11th August, 2010 do not establish the lawful possession of the petitioners and that ad-interim order of injunction issued in favour of the petitioners in Title Suit No. 1895 of 2011 was set aside by a Division Bench of this Court by order dated 20.01.2012 in F.M.A.T No. 41 of 2012. The respondent no. 1 electric company has opposed the writ petition by filing affidavit-in-opposition claiming that upon receipt of the application for electric connection the officers of the respondent no. 1 held an inspection in the said premises and pursuant thereto had provided the electric connection to the said premises. The respondent no. 7 has also used affidavit-in-opposition wherein he claimed that he was in lawful occupation of the portion of the said premises and was therefore entitled to electric connection.
(3.) IN the course of hearing, I directed the respondent no. 1 authority to produce the original documents relating to the inspection conducted by them in the said premises. Documents were produced and the petitioners have also filed an exception thereto. Mr. Chatterjee, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the respondent no. 7 had used forged and fabricated documents like the rent receipts to claim that he was a lawful tenant of the said premises. He further contended that the respondent no. 7 is a rank trespasser and that he is not entitled to electric connection. He also submitted that trade license did not establish possession in a premises and relied on AIR 2006 Cal 73 in support of his submission. Mr. Sanyal, appearing for the respondent no. 1 electric company submitted that during inspection the respondent no. 7 was found in occupation of the said premises and therefore the connection was given to him. Mr. Roy, appearing for the respondent no. 7 claimed that respondent no. 7 is in lawful possession of the said premises and he further submitted that the order of injunction was set aside on technical grounds and not on merits. He relies on 2011 (2) CHN 768 and submits that even a trespasser would be entitled to electric connection. In reply, Mr. Chatterjee submits that the respondent no. 7 cannot even be said to be a trespasser in settled position and that having obtained electric connection by using fraud documents and he immediately be deprived of such privilege and relied on 2000 (3) SCC 518 in support of his contention. Section 43 of the Electricity Act, 2003 read as follows : 43. Duty to supply on request.- (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, every distribution licensee, shall, on an application by the owner or occupier of any premises, give supply of electricity to such premises, within one month after receipt of the application requiring such supply: Provided that where such supply requires extension of distribution mains, or commissioning of new sub-stations, the distribution licensee shall supply the electricity to such premises immediately after such extension or commissioning or within such period as may be specified by the Appropriate Commission: Provided further that in case of a village or hamlet or area wherein no provision for supply of electricity exists, the Appropriate Commission may extend the said period as it may consider necessary for electrification of such village or hamlet or area. [Explanation.-For the purposes of this sub-section, "application" means the application complete in all respects in the appropriate form, as required by the distribution licensee, along with documents showing payment of necessary charges and other compliances.] (2) It shall be the duty of every distribution licensee to provide, if required, electric plant or electric line for giving electric supply to the premises specified in sub-section (1): Provided that no person shall be entitled to demand, or to continue to receive, from a licensee a supply of electricity for any premises having a separate supply unless he has agreed with the licensee to pay to him such price determined by the Appropriate Commission. (3) If a distribution licensee fails to supply the electricity within a period specified in subsection (1), he shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to one thousand rupees for each day of default. ;