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2005 Supreme(Bom) 141
IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION FOR GREATER BOMBAY
Versus
SHARDA DYEING, PRINTING WORKS
Decided on : FEBRUARY 4, 2005
Headnote:Electricity Act, 1910 - Sections 26(6) and 24(2) - Dispute as to under recording of electricity consumption. - Once meter found to be correct, defect in recording electricity consumption would not attract jurisdiction of Electrical Inspector under Section 26(6) of Act. - Section 26(6) of the Electricity Act, 1910, conditions the jurisdiction of the Electrical Inspector on the existence of a difference or dispute on whether a meter installed at the premises of the consumer is or is not correct. The existence of such a dispute or difference is condition precedent to the exercise of the jurisdiction of the Electrical Inspector. From the pleadings as well as the contemporaneous conduct of the parties that there was no dispute between them in regard to the cause which led to the under-recording of electrical consumption in the meter that was installed by the BEST Undertaking. Both the parties have expressly proceeded on the basis that the reason why electricity consumed was under recorded by 67.76% was because the second circuit on the red and yellow phases was open and because of a loose potential connection with red and yellow phases. The first respondent took time to produce documents in support of his submission that the factory remained closed during the period for which the bill had been amended. He, however, chose not to produce any document in support of his own case. Belatedly reference was made to the Electrical Inspector. Even in the application before Electrical Inspector, the case of the first respondent was that there was no defect in the meter and that the lower consumption of electricity was on account of a stoppage of production. The Undertaking on its part recorded in its reply before the Electrical Inspector that the meter was working slow beyond permissible limits as the R and Y phases were found open and because the potential connection of two phases on the terminal meter was found to be loose. There is merit in the submission which was urged by the petitioner that the jurisdiction of the Electrical Inspector would not have been invoked. The condition precedent to the invocation of the jurisdiction of the Electrical Inspector and to the exercise of that jurisdiction is a dispute as to whether a meter is or is not correct. In the present case, the first respondent did not dispute the factual position that there was nothing intrinsically wrong or erroneous with the meter. The appellate authority held that the meter and its wiring are independent and separate. Of this position there was no dispute. The appellate authority notes that the meter and its current transformer are interrelated and that without the C.T., the consumption on the meter cannot be recorded when there is a C.T. operated meter. Again there can be no dispute about this proposition, nor indeed in the view of the appellate authority that if there is a defect in the meter, it cannot record a proper reading. The appellate authority held that it is essential that the C.T. of the meter and the meter should both be correct. Having said this, the appellate authority then proceeded to hold that Section 26(6) was applicable and that a supplementary bill could not exceed a period of six months. The conclusion of the appellate authority does not flow from its premise. What the appellate authority completely lost sight of was the absence of any dispute between the parties on the fact that both the meter and the C.T. were correct. Once that was the position, then a defect in the writing would not attract the jurisdiction under Section 26(6). This is the clear position in law enunciated by the Supreme Court. The impugned order of the appellate authority has to be quashed. Dispute under Section 26(6) dismissed. AIR 2003 SC 1581 - Relied on.
D. Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.
( 1 ) THE first respondent is a consumer of the bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking and carries on the business of dyeing and printing. The first respondent has derived electric supply through three meters situated at the premises of the factory. Meter D-833723 was being used for commercial purposes while Meters 0273715 and 0442967 were being used for industrial purposes. The consumption pattern on Meter 0442967 showed that there was a sudden and considerable drop in consumption from 3rd May, 1994. The meter was checked by the Deputy Engineer in the Energy Audit department of the petitioner on 7th December, 1995 in the presence of a representative of the first respondent. On being checked, it was found that the meter was under-recording the consumption of electricity by 65. 76% due to the secondary Circuit of the Current Transformer being open on the red and yellow phases and because of a loose potential connection on the red and yellow phases. According to the petitioner, in ordinary parlance what this meant was that the wires connecting the current transformer and the meter of the red phase and yellow phase were open, as a result of which , the supply through the red and yellow phases was not fed to the meter which was recording the consumption of the consumer. Hence, according to the petitioner, though the supply was being used by the first respondent as usual, due to the loose connection in wiring, the consumption which was recorded in the meter was l/3rd of the actual and hence 2/3rd of the supply was not recorded. On this aspect of the matter, parties, it is evident, are ad idem. In paragraph 6 of the Writ Petition filed by B. E. S. T. Undertaking there is the following averment in regard to the cause for the under- recording of the electricity consumption to the extent of 65. 76%. :"on the said meter being checked it was found that the said meter was under recording consumption by 65. 76 per cent due to the C. T. Secondary Circuit being open on the Red and Yellow Phase and due to loose potential connection on the Red and Yellow Phase. In ordinary parlance, what it really means is that the wire connecting the current transformer and the meter of the Red Phase and Yellow Phase were open. As a result of which the supply through Red Phase and Yellow Phase respectively were not been ted to the meter which records the consumption of the consumer. Thus even though the supply was being used by the 1st respondent as usual, due to the above disconnection in wiring, the consumption recorded on the meter was only one third and hence two third of the consumption of supply was not recorded on the meter. "insofar as this averment is concerned, there is an admission in the following terms in para 9 of the affidavit in reply. "it is true that due to the defect in the connection of Current Transformer (C. T.) and Meter of Red Phase and Yellow Phase, the Meter was not giving proper reading. "
( 2 ) AT this stage, it would be worthwhile to advert to the working of a C. T. operated meter. In meters through which supply for loads upto 100 Amps is derived, the electricity supplied to the consumer passes through the meter itself and is recorded by the meter. However, for consumption with higher installed loads, it is not possible for the entire current consumed to pass through the meter as that would require a meter of an extremely large size. Thus, the meter is connected parallel to the main supply line of the consumer. A current transformer is installed for each phase supplied to the consumer (red, yellow and blue phases) which allows a proportionately small quantity of electricity to pass through the meter, which is then recorded by the meter. The meter thus has a multiplier factor by which the actual recording by a meter is required to be multiplied in order to record actual electricity consumed. For instance, if a meter has a multiplier factor of 20 and the meter indicates 1000 units as having been
