In a major relief to Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia ur Rehman Barq, the Allahabad High Court has ordered Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) to immediately restore electricity at his residence. The power supply had been disconnected in December 2024 over allegations of unauthorized usage.
The Division Bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Sandeep Jain has also stayed a final assessment order that imposed a massive electricity charge of ₹1.91 crore on Barq. This amount was calculated for 4138 days, citing alleged unauthorized electricity use.
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"The petitioner cannot be burdened with an assessment for over 12 years when the Electricity Act clearly limits such demand to a maximum of 12 months," the court observed, referring to Section 126(5) of the Electricity Act, 2003.
Barq challenged the assessment order on the ground that it was passed without any jurisdiction. He argued that Section 126(5) permits assessment for a maximum of 12 months where the unauthorized usage period cannot be determined. Hence, the order imposing charges for over 11 years was arbitrary and illegal.
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He also argued that the final assessment included additional electricity duty and compounding charges, which were beyond the legal authority’s power to impose.
"An illegal and arbitrary demand of ₹1.91 crore was raised, violating statutory limitations, and the petitioner cannot be forced to deposit 50% of the same just to file an appeal," the counsel submitted.
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Barq’s legal team, represented by Advocates Bidhan Chandra Rai and Stuti Rai, further informed the court that their client was willing to deposit ₹6 lakhs as a permissible amount to continue his appeal. Accepting this, the court granted PVVNL’s counsel three weeks to seek further instructions and listed the case for hearing on July 2.
In the meantime, the court directed that on payment of ₹6 lakhs within two weeks, the operation of the assessment order will remain stayed. The electricity supply must also be restored promptly, provided Barq continues to pay all future electricity bills on time.
According to Naveen Gautam, Executive Engineer (XEN) of UPPCL in Sambhal, the two meters installed at Barq’s home had shown zero readings for the past six months. The consumption remained under 100 units in all the months last year. However, during inspection, it was reportedly found that the house was consuming over 16 kilowatts of power daily, against the sanctioned load of 4 kilowatts.
Advocate Pranjal Mehrotra appeared for the respondents in this case.
