The court upheld the statutory authority to lay electricity lines, prioritizing public interest over individual objections.

Order

01/09/2022

The petitioners herein have approached this Court through this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India branding the same to be a Public Interest Litigation writ petition with the following prayers:-

“(1). It is therefore, humbly prayed that this Hon’ble Court may graciously allow the present writ petition and in the interest of justice by an appropriate writ, order or direction the respondents may be restrained from erection of 132 KV supply line from within the residential area of Khasra No.1357 (old) of Village Jeewana, Tehsil Sayala, District Jalore.

(2) That the respondents may further be directed to shift the tower proposed in Khasra No.709 of Village Jeewana, Tehsil Sayala, District Jalore just at a distance of 200 feet in the same land towards the land bearing Khasra No.710. As the same would at all not disturbe the entire alignment of the proposed 132 KV supply line between GSS Khokha to GSS Jeewana.”

Shri P.R. Singh Jodha, learned counsel representing the petitioners, vehemently and fervently contended that 132 KV Overhead Electricity Line is being installed through the Khasra No.1332/707, which may cause serious threat to lives of the villagers of Village Jeewana and their livestock and thus, a direction be given to restrain the respondents from erection of the supply line in question and further to change the alignment thereof.

We have given our thoughtful consideration to the submissions advanced by Shri Singh and have gone through the material placed on record.

Suffice it to say that laying of the Overhead Electricity Line is being undertaken by the respondents by taking recourse to the powers conferred under Section 68 read with Section 164 of The Electricity Act, 2003 . Shri Jodha, during the course of arguments, candidly conceded that Gazette notification in this regard, has been issued long back and the same is not under challenge in this writ petition. Nevertheless, his fervent contention was that as many villagers’ own lands directly underneath the over hung of the questioned supply line, it would pose a great threat to the lives of the petitioners and their likes and so also, to the livestock which grazes on these lands.

We have gone through the various title documents placed on record of the writ petition. It is clearly evident form a bare perusal of these documents that the entire chunk of agricultural land in question was owned by one Prakash Dewasi, who seems to have got it converted into Abadi category and thereafter, divided it into plots, sold the same to various persons between the months of November, 2021 to April, 2022. As the Gazette notification authorizing the laying of the overhead electricity supply line has not been placed on record, it can be safely presumed that all these transactions must have been made after the issuance thereof.

Apparently, thus, the instant writ petition seems to be nothing but a ploy of the land holders to somehow or the other, get the alignment of the Overhead Electricity Line changed.

This very controversy was considered in detail by Hon’ble the Gujarat High Court in the case of Gujarat State Energy Transmission Corporation Limited Vs. Ratilal Maganji Brahmbhatt (Barot) reported in AIR 2021 CC 1044 and the similar challenge laid by the land holder was repelled in the following manner:-

“58.1 The Part III of the Telegraph Act, 1885, deals with the Power to place "Telegraph Lines and Posts" and there are other provisions in the said Act, applicable to all the properties. As seen from the plethora of cases, the powers conferred on the telegraph authority to place and maintain telegraph lines and towers, are traceable to Sections 10 , 11 and 14 of the Act, 1885 and by virtue of Section 164 of the Electricity Act, 2003 , it is conferred on any public officer, licensee or any other person engaged in the business of supplying electricity.

58.2 As per Clause (c) to Section 10 , the authority can exercise its powers in respect of the property of a l