The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Electricity Board has the authority to lay electric lines over private property without the owner's consent if the lines are established or maintained by the Government.

1. The Kerala State Electricity Board, who was the defendant in a suit for a mandatory injunction for the removal of the electric lines drawn over the property of the respondent, is the appellant in this second appeal The respondent purchased a property, 381/2 cents in extent, comprised in Sy. Nos. 1084, 1085 and 1022 in the year 1962 from the previous owner, one Abdulla. The respondent requested the appellant to shift the electric lines, but there was no compliance. The respondent's case was that his predecessor had not given consent to the Electricity Board for laying the lines and the Board was -therefore, in law, bound to remove the electric lines. The suit was resisted by the appellant on the ground that the Electricity Board had, under S.51 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 read with the relevant notifications issued thereunder, the power to take the electric lines over the plaint property even though it was a private land and that the appellant was not bound to remove the same. The trial Court on an interpretation of S.51 of the Indian Electricity Act and S.10, proviso (a), of the Indian Telegraph Act, held that the Board had the power to lay an electric line without the consent of the owner of the land only if the electric lines had been established or maintained by the Government and that the respondent was therefore entitled to have the electric lines removed. The Court consequently granted the mandatory injunction prayed for. The Electricity Board appealed, but the Subordinate Judge of Cochin held that the Electricity Board had no authority to drew electric wires over a private property to give electric connection to a private individual. It is against this decision that the present appeal has been filed.

2. S.10 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 empowers the telegraph authority to place and maintain telegraph lines over, along or across any immovable property provided that it is so done for the purpose of a telegraph established or maintained by the Central Government. By S.51 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, the State Government has been authorised to confer similar powers, by an order in writing, upon any authority, licensee or person engaged in the business of supplying energy to the public. The Section runs as follows;

"Notwithstanding anything in S.12 to 16 (both inclusive) and S.18 and 19, the State Government may, by order in writing, for the placing of electric supply lines, appliances and apparatus for the transmission of energy or for the purpose of telephonic or telegraphic communications necessary for the proper coordination of works, confer upon any public officer, licensee or any other person engaged in the business of supplying energy to the public under this Act subject to such conditions and restrictions (if any) as the State Government may think fit to impose, and to the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 13 of 1885, any of the powers which the telegraph authority possesses under that Act, with respect to the placing of telegraph lines and posts for the purposes of a telegraph established or maintained by the Government or to be so established or maintained-"

It is common case that a notification has been issued by the Government of Kerala dated 6th January 1960 conferring upon the Chief Engineer, the Additional Chief Engineer (Operation), the Electrical Superintending Engineers and Executive Engineers of the Kerala State Electricity Board to exercise the powers conferred by S.51 within their respective jurisdictions.

3. On behalf of the Electricity Board, it is urged that the above notification confers on the officers of the Electricity Board sufficient authority to lay electric lines over properties belonging to private persons and no consent of the owner of the land is required for that purpose. The lower Courts have proceeded on the basis that this power can be conferred only in respect of electric lines established or maintained by Government as the proviso (a) to S.10 of t