Power theft: SC asks if punishment for ordinary persons, factory owners can be equal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to constitute a larger bench over a case pertaining to power theft and issued notice to the attorney general for Pakistan for his assistance.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard a case regarding power theft. The court rejected the request of counsel for a power distribution company (Disco) and issued notice to AGP to assist as to whether a direct first information report (FIR) could be lodged in the case of power stealing.

During the hearing, Justice Ayesha A Malik, while raising questions over the power theft, asked whether the punishment for ordinary persons and owners of factories will be equal. The judge asked the counsel for Disco about the procedure for lodging an FIR on power theft, asking whether a sub-divisional officer (SDO) would file a complaint against power stealing in a court of law or a police station.

The counsel replied that after filing the cases, its Challan was submitted in court. The chief justice asked the counsel as to what powers could be granted to police for filing the cases adding that the court has to examine the gravity of the offences as to which offence is heinous and which one is not. The CJP, however, remarked that blowing up a transmission line through the explosive device is a heinous offence. Later, the court adjourned the hearing for a month.