Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has upheld the order of Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) which had in 2015 struck down state government's regulation requiring landlords or occupants to produce ‘occupancy certificates’ issued by the local municipal authorities including BBMP to get electricity connection.
The court upheld the KERC’s order while dismissing the petition filed by the BBMP, which had challenged the KERC’s order that distribution companies like BESCOM, CESCOM etc., could not insist upon the consumers to prove their occupation of the premises by the “Occupancy Certificate” to be issued by the Municipal Bodies like BBMP.
The KERC in its order dated April 9, 2015 ruled, “Electricity is an essential commodity for all people. As per the concerned Act, envisages an universal obligation on the part of the Distribution Licensee to provide electricity on an application by the owner or occupier of any premises. Under the Act, the Commission has been delegated with the powers to frame suitable Regulations for the supply of electricity to the consumers, on such terms and conditions. The Condition of Supply (CoS) is duly framed and approved by this Commission, specifying the terms and conditions for supply of electricity to the consumers. The CoS has the full force and effect of a statute. This Commission alone has the right to amend or modify any of the provisions of the CoS.”
The order said that all persons, who are entitled to get supply of electricity under the terms of the CoS, cannot be denied the supply of electricity for any extraneous reasons.
Therefore, even a person, whose occupation of a building is not as per the provisions of the Municipality Act and Bye-Laws, is entitled for the supply of electricity to his premises, if he satisfies the provisions of the CoS, it added.
The High Court while upholding KERC's order, said that it is satisfied that the conditions of Supply Regulations as they exist as of now do not require the proof of Occupation in the form of “Occupancy Certificate” to be issued by the respective Municipal bodies including BBMP for regulating the electricity supply in the state.
“In the absence of any amendment of the relevant bye-laws or CoS, the State Government could not have insisted upon, as has been done in the circular dated July 18, 2014 to ask the Distribution Companies to insist for the production of ‘Occupancy Certificate’ by the consumer/applicant in a multi-storied building, whereas, the ‘Occupancy Certificate’ has to be obtained by the Developer/Builder from the BBMP. The individual flat owners, who may be the consumers or applicants, may not have any access or right to obtain such ‘Occupancy Certificate’ at all from the Municipal bodies like BBMP and therefore, insistence upon them to produce “Occupancy Certificate” as a condition for obtaining the power connection would be per se illegal,” the High Court ordered.
It further held that the State Legislature is at liberty to amend the relevant Rules and Regulations, but so long as they stand now, the KERC cannot be faulted in passing the order.
