Court gives procedure for electricity theft cases registration

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday ruled that Peshawar Electric Supply Company’s cases against consumers in electricity theft would be illegal until necessary requirements of written complaint and permission from a grade-17 officer with reasons were not taken before registration of the case.

As per a detailed decision authored by Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah, it was held that the offences related to Chapter XVII-B of the PPC shall only be covered by the provision of Section 462-O, which oust the applicability of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 or any other law for the time being in force assumption relating to the jurisdiction of the court in the matter.

“Thus the court (sessions court designated as electricity utilities court) shall not take cognizance of any offence under this Chapter XVII-B of the PPC except on a complaint made with reasons to be recorded in writing along with full particulars of the offence committed under this Chapter by duly authorized officer (not below grade 17) of the government or distribution company, as the case may be,” the court ruled in the judgement.

The bench also dismissed the Pesco appeals filed against the decision of district and sessions judge Dera Ismail Khan, in which the court had returned all the cases to Pesco against electricity consumers as the police registered FIRs against electricity theft but requirements for FIRs were not fulfilled under the law.

The high court ruled that the district court shall not take cognizance of the offence relating to Chapter XVII-B of the PPC, except upon a complaint provided by the provision 462-O.

The high court stated that the decisions passed by the district court on November 5, 2018, to return cases to Pesco against 43 private consumers of electricity is based on the proper interpretation of the law and this court does not need any interference in the present quashment of petitions and thus upheld the district court decision.

About the facts of the case, it said that during checking, the Pesco authorities found the 43 private respondents using electricity through direct connections without passing through the electric meters and thus on the report of Pesco separate FIRs were registered against the private respondents of electricity theft under section 462-I of PPC.

After completion of investigation in the FIR, challans were submitted in the court and their cases were pending for trial. However, the trial court clubbed all the cases and questioned that the trial in these cases would be a futile exercise until the question of maintainability was resolved.

However, it said that the district and sessions judge returned and dismissed all the cases with a law point that procedure under the law was not fulfilled in taking action against the consumers.