Uttarakhand High Court
Btc Industries Pvt. Ltd. vs Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd. And ... on 17 June, 2016
Author: U.C. Dhyani
Bench: U.C. Dhyani
WPMS No. 1564 of 2016 Hon'ble U.C. Dhyani, J.
Mr. Shobhit Saharia, Advocate for the petitioner.
Mr. Naresh Pant, Advocate for the respondents.
By means of present writ petition, the petitioner seeks following reliefs, among others:
"(i) A writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the part of order dated 11.5.2016 passed by respondent no. 2 vide which it has been directed that the payment of electricity charges from the petitioner will be accepted in cash or D.D. only and payment through cheque shall not be accepted.
(ii) A writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondent no. 2 not to invoke the powers under section 56 of the Act of 2003 for disconnection of the supply of electricity to the petitioner, without giving paper opportunity of hearing and notice in writing and without coming to the conclusion that petitioner is "negligent", as provided under section 56 itself and that too when the petitioner has always paid the dues of the department, only on the basis of two lines typed/printed at the bottom of the bill."
Primarily the petitioner has approached this Court being aggrieved against the order dated 11.5.2016 passed by respondent no. 2, whereby the petitioner has been informed that the payment of electricity bills of the petitioner-company through cheques shall not be entertained in future, and shall be accepted only through bank demand draft.
It is the submission of learned counsel for the respondent-UPCL that the petitioner has also an option to make payment of electricity bills in cash.
When this Court questioned learned counsel for the respondent-UPCL, as to what prompted the respondent to pass such an order, learned counsel replied that the cheque of the petitioner was once dishonored, whereas the fact of the matter is that the cheque was not dishonored. Infact, the following was written on Annexure no. 6:
'Code no. 3- Effects not cleared, present again.' Let us not waste precious time of the Court, into the question, as to whether the cheque was dishonored or not. No case under section 138 Negotiable Insturments Act has been filed.
Present writ petition can be conveniently disposed of at the admission stage, with the following directions:
The petitioner will make payment of electricity bills to the respondent-corporation through RTGS, and on failure of RTGS, for any technical reason, beyond the control of the bank, through cheque.
Needless to say, that the petitioner has to clear current bills within next 24 hours.
In this writ petition, learned counsel for the petitioner did not press relief no. 2 seeking liberty to agitate the same in some other writ petition, if the need be, in accordance with law. Such liberty is granted.
Let a certified copy of this order be supplied to the learned counsel for the petitioner, today itself, on payment of usual charges.
[Interim relief application being CLMA no. 5946 of 2016 stands disposed of.] (U.C. Dhyani, J.) 17.6.2016 Pooja