The main legal point established in the judgment is the admissibility of analysis reports from interested parties and the requirement for proper testing procedures in cases of alleged electricity theft.

S.N. Hussain & Ahsanuddin Amanullah, JJ.

This Letters Patent Appeal has been filed against order dated 12.08.2008 by which learned Single Judge of this Court allowed C.W.J.C. No.9309 of 2008 filed by the writ petitioners-respondents and quashed provisional punitive bill dated 11.06.2008 raised by the respondent-Board pursuant to the analysis report dated 06.06.2008 of M/s Secure Meters Limited and directed the authorities to adjust the amounts already deposited against the said bill in the future bills of the petitioners.

2. The aforesaid writ petition bearing C.W.J.C. No.9309 of 2008 was filed by the two writ petitioners, who are respondents in this Letters Patent Appeal, for the following reliefs:-

(i) For issuance of a writ in the nature of a writ of certiorari setting aside and quashing the provisional punitive bill dated 11.06.2008 raised pursuant to FIR lodging by the incharge Assistant Engineer, Electric through memo no.142 dated 10.06.2008 and every other consequential developments and actions pursuant to the said provision punitive bill.

(ii) For issuance of a writ in the nature of a writ of mandamus directing and commanding the respondents to adjust the part payment made by the petitioners pursuant to the provisional punitive bill which was forcibly obtained by the Board, in the future energy bills of the petitioners or to refund the same.

(iii) For holding that the action of the respondent board making and declaring/permitting M/s Secure Meter Ltd. the supplier of the said meters to the Board, a beneficiary of the contract, the judge of his own conduct (supply of faulty or inappropriate meter, to find the reason/type and cause of defects in the said meter is some thing not acceptable in the eyes of law.

(iv) For a direction to the Respondents Board to not to take any coercive action against the petitioner pursuant to the provisional punitive bill and thereafter the forced agreement by the petitioner with the Board to pay the 25% on the punitive bill same day under the threat of disconnection, and to pay the rest in installment, effectively the payment of installments are prayed to be stayed.

(v) For a declaration that the very basis of the provisional punitive bill is an abuse to the criminal jurisprudence.

(vi) For appropriate order(s), writ(s), direction(s) as this Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of this case.

3. The undisputed fact of this case is that an electrical meter was installed on 16.03.2007 in the premises of the petitioners for reading the consumption of electrical energy by the Bihar State Electricity Board (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Board’ for the sake of brevity), which got it supplied along with other meters by M/s Secure Meters Limited. However, the said meter did not function and hence the authorities of the Board inspected the same along with representatives of M/s Secure Meters Limited on 16.05.2007 and decided to replace the same, whereafter the defective/non-functional meter was taken away by the authorities of the Board and a new meter was installed in the petitioners’ premises.

4. The claim of petitioners was that much later on 29.05.2008 a letter was sent by the Board stating that the Board was going to send the defective meter to the supplier M/s Secure Meters Limited at Udaipur (Rajsthan) for analysing the type and cause of defect and fixed 06.06.2008 at 11 A.M. for witnessing the analysis and requesting the petitioners to send their representative for the purpose. However, vide letter dated 30.05.2008 the petitioners objected to the analysis of meter by the supplier itself, but the said letter remained unheeded. Thus it was claimed that the said analysis having been done by the interested person, namely the supplier of the meter himself, no authenticity can be placed on it on any analysis made by M/s Secure Meters Limited, specially when the authority of the Board in presence of representatives of M/s Secure Meters Limited had taken away defec