Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned counsel for the North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited and learned counsel for the State.

2. In this case, the petitioner is challenging the action of the Power Grid Corporation for hanging 11000 KV wire over the Khata No.110, Plot No.560, admeasuring about 1 acre and 36 decimal of land, situated at village- Bhariyar, District-Buxar, claiming to be in violation of Rule-3(a)(b) Proviso-2 of the Works of Licensees Rule, 2006. The ground has been taken that under the Rule before mounting the pole or hanging the wire, the Power Grid Corporation is required to give notice and only thereafter they could have established the electrical pole and hang the wire over the land.

3. The Power Grid Corporation has been given the task to create transmission infrastructure for the purpose of electrification of rural and urban areas through out the country and for that north, south east and west centres have to be connected to each other with a view to extract and utilize the power as and where the extra power was available. It is well-known that India is an energy deficient country, notwithstanding rapid expansion in this direction in the last few years, and particularly after the entry of private sector, in sofar as production of electricity is concerned. Still, there are many households where lighting of even electrical bulb is a dream. Moreover, the social-economic development of the country depends on this critical infrastructure. Keeping in these parameters, one of the objects of the power Grid Corporation is to transmit the energy to remote area.

4. In the State of Bihar also the Power Grid Corporation is working on laying the transmission line. In this exercise, the Power Grid Corporation is to place the poles for laying the wire. The Khata No.110, Plot No.560 came in the alignment for mounting the pole and hanging the wire. When the employees of the Power Grid Corporation started digging the earth, the petitioner raised objection, the land over which the electrical wire has to be laid, would be used for construction of his house in near future inasmuch as high voltage power will cause a damage to flora and fauna standing on his land and requested that the alignment of the wire be deviated and electrical poles should be shifted on another land. The authority did not give any reply, which compelled the petitioner to approach this Court.

5. Primarily, the petitioner has raised the objection that if the Power Grid Corporation was/is intending to utilize the land and mount electrical pole, in such circumstance, in terms of the Rule 3(a)(b) Proviso 2 of the Works of Licensees Rules, 2006, it is incumbent upon the Power Grid Corporation to give prior notice to the petitioner and only thereafter they can utilize the land for the purposes of laying wire and establishing the electrical pole, which they have not done and as such, the whole action is illegal, nullity and the Power Grid Corporation should be asked to put the pole in a different place so that he would be able to utilize the land in a proper manner.

6. Learned counsel for the South Bihar Power Distribution Company as well as the State submitted that the Power Grid Corporation is under the control of the Central Government and the Central Government has granted sanction to the Power Grid Corporation to carry out the work of transmission in every part of India. In pursuance thereof, the work is in progress. It has further submitted that in view of Section 164 read with Section 3 of the Electricity Act, 2003, it is evidently clear that there was no need for the Power Grid Corporation to give notice before laying the wire and utilizing the land for the purposes of establishing the pole and placed reliance on the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of The Power Grid Corporation of India Limited vs. Century Textiles & Industries Limited and Ors. reported in 2017(2) PLJR, 152.

7. Learned counsel for the petitioner h