JUDGMENT

The petitioner is a consumer of the respondent Electricity Board under the category LT VII(A) commercial tariff, with a sanctioned load of 8kW, in a building used to accommodate employees in the shop. Pursuant to the inspection conducted by the Anti Power Theft Squad on the premises on 18.04.2017, a provisional assessment for Rs.2,18,518/- was issued on 24.04.2017 under Section 126 of the Electricity Act 2003, alleging that the petitioner had connected a total load of 26631 watts as against the sanctioned load of 11320 watts pertaining to the consumer No.17168. The final assessment order was passed on 17.05.2017, revising the provisional assessment to Rs.2,03,877/-, against which the petitioner had approached the Kerala State Electricity Appellate Authority.

2. The contention of the petitioner was that the premises have been used for domestic purposes, not for the hostel as alleged. The penalisation under LT VII A is also challenged. The petitioner argued based onSulabha Marketing (P) Ltd v. KSEB [201