IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH RSA-552-2024(O&M)

Date of Decision: 28.11.2025 Sub Divisional Officer (OP) UHBVN Ltd. Sub Division No.1, Assandh, District Karnal ........ Petitioner Versus Shanti Devi Education Society ......... Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARKESH MANUJA Present:- Mr. Kunal Soni, Advocate for Ms. Nikita Goel, Advocate for the appellant. Mr. Jagdish Manchanda, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Nischal Chetanya Manchanda, Advocate for the respondent.

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HARKESH MANUJA, J. (ORAL)

By way of present appeal, challenge has been laid to the judgments and decrees dated 10.05.2019 and 27.10.2023 passed by the Courts below, whereby, a suit filed at the instance of respondent -

plaintiff with the following prayer came to be decreed:-

“Prayed that a decree for declaration declaring the memo no.. SDASD/2018/563 and memo no. SDASD/2018/564 dated 06.08.18, as null and void, nonest, ineffective, inoperative and not binding upon the rights of the plaintiff as detailed in para no.3 of the plaint and further a decree for permanent injunction restraining the defendant from recovering the alleged amount of above said memos from the plaintiff and further restraining the defendant from disconnect the connection of the plaintiff and the defendant further restrained from registration of case and from arresting the plaintiff, may kindly be passed in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendant, in the interest of justice.

Any other relief, to which the plaintiff is entitled be also given to him.”

2. Learned counsel for the appellant relies upon a Division Bench decision rendered by this Court in the bunch of appeals with lead case RSA-4181-2016, decided on 14.05.2025, titled as "Mahesh Kumar vs. Sub Divisional Officer & another", to contend that jurisdiction of the Civil Court is barred to entertain the suit preferred at the instance of respondent, in terms of Section 145 of the Electricity Act, 2003 and for the said purpose, relevant paragraphs No.31 to 33 thereof are extracted hereunder:-

"31. Therefore, the sweep, and, plenitude of Section

145, thus in the spoken thereins manner, naturally completely ousts the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts. The said ouster, as becomes gathered by this Court, through the makings of an insightful interpretation of the supra phrases, which occur thereins, but is a specific ouster, leaving no room at all for any inference qua any implied ousters becoming created. Though, the said ouster, as occurs in the initial segment but relates to certain matters specifically delineated thereins, but since the last segment, as carried thereins, is separately engrafted thereins, as the word 'and' separates the last segment from the prior thereto three segments. Resultantly, the sweep of the last segment but takes within its ambit, sweep or clout, thus all those matters, which remain unspoken in the prior thereto segments.

32. Naturally therebys, in terms of the supra purposive interpretation assigned by this Court to the last segment of Section 145 of the Act of 2003, therebys all actions taken or proposed to be taken by any authority, thus in pursuance to powers conferred by or under this Act, rather cover all such matters, which are detailed in extenso in the Act of 2003. In sequel therebys but naturally all the actionable matters become amenable for exercisings of jurisdiction thereovers by the statutorily created special authorities/special bodies, wherebys in respect thereof, thus there is complete ouster of adjudicatory jurisdiction by the Civil Courts concerned.

33. In consequence, there is no restriction, as such created by Section 145 of the Act of 2003, vis-a- vis only the three segments (supra) which occur thereins, but the ouster of adjudicatory jurisdiction of the Civil Courts, rather through the last segment which occurs thereins, but does cover all the subject matters, in respect whereof action becomes initiated, or where actions are proposed to be contemplated against the errant con