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Judgment
That the present Writ application has been filed for the following reliefs:-
"(i)For issuance of an appropriate writ/writs in the nature of mandamus direction/commanding the concerned Respondents to provide electric connection adjacent to the land of the petitioner bearing Khata No.285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 293, 294, 295, 296 having an area of 9 acres and 51.4 decimals and Khata No.156, Plot Nos. 862 and 863 having an area 1 acre and 7 decimals as both the plots are adjacent to each other situated in the mouza Gogi Thana No.135 in the district of Araria and on the proper application and request of the petitioner electric polls and wire have been installed and electric connection has been given, but, more than land half kilometers away from the aforesaid plots of the petitioner and electric bills provided to him without any use of electricity by the petitioner for the purpose of irrigation of his aforesaid plots and the petitioner has been moving from pillars to post for spreading the electricity to his plots and this act of Respondents the petitioner has been facing hardships, loss and immense difficulty in his farming in the aforesaid plots.
(ii)Any other appropriate relief/reliefs may also be granted to the petitioner for which he is found entitled in the facts and circumstances of the case."
The brief facts culled out of the Writ petition are that the petitioner has a raiyat of agricultural land situated at Mouza Gogi, District Araria, where he carries on farming. Pursuant to the State Government policy for irrigation, an electricity connection was sanctioned for the said agricultural land, for which poles, wires and a meter were installed. However, the last electric pole is situated about one kilometre away from the petitioner’s land and, consequently, electricity though not being supplied for irrigation, electricity bills were issued to the petitioner. The petitioner made several representations before the concerned electricity authorities and other officials seeking rectification of the defect and for providing electricity connection to his agricultural land, however, no effective action was taken. Hence, the present Writ petition has been filed.
A counter affidavit was filed on behalf of the respondent Electricity Department. The Learned counsel for the respondent Electricity Department submits that the petitioner has been provided with an agricultural electricity connection pursuant to his application. The meter and LT box were installed as per the instructions of his representative. It is further submitted that the electricity bill was wrongly raised due to a billing error, which was subsequently corrected and the excess amount adjusted.
The Learned counsel for the respnodents further submits that the electricity connection was restored, after verification by the departmental committee and necessary steps were taken by the authorities on the petitioner’s complaint. The allegation of demand of illegal gratification by the Junior Engineer is stated to be a bald and unsupported allegation. It is, therefore, submitted that there is no deficiency on the part of the Department. The Learned counsel, therefore, prays for dismissal of the Writ petition as being devoid of merit.
A Rejoinder to the counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the petitioner. The Learned counsel for the petitioner, in reply, submits that the electricity connection shown by the respondents is not at the petitioner’s agricultural land but is situated more than one and a half kilometres away from his land and the water boring. Therefore, the petitioner is unable to use the connection for irrigation purposes.
It is further submitted that the grievance of the petitioner has still not been redressed and the departmental claim that the connection was restored at the petitioner’s land is incorrect. The Learned counsel also submits that the allegation regarding demand of illegal gratification was made on the basis of an oral demand and, therefore, no documentary proof is available. He, accordingly, submits that effective steps are still required to be taken by the respondents to provide a usable electricity connection to the petitioner’s agricultural land.
Heard the Learned counsel for the parties and perused the materials available on record.
Having considered the rival submissions and the materials available on record, this Court finds that the respondent Electricity Department has specifically stated in its counter affidavit that the petitioner has already been provided the agricultural electricity connection, the meter and LT box have been installed, and the connection was restored after departmental verification. It has also been stated that the erroneous electricity bill was subsequently corrected and the amount adjusted.
In view of the aforesaid statement made on behalf of the respondents, no further direction is required to be issued in the present Writ petition. The petitioner, if still facing any specific technical difficulty with the electricity connection, shall be at liberty to approach the concerned authority for its redressal.
The Writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed.
Interlocutory Application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.