Racharla Laxman v. Mr. A. Gopal Rao

High Court for the State of Telangana The Hon'ble The Acting Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and The Hon'ble Sri Justice A.Rajasheker Reddy Contempt Case No.363 of 2019 Date: 10-04-2019 Between:

Racharla Laxman and another

...Petitioners

and Mr. A. Gopal Rao and 4 others

...Respondents

Counsel for the petitioners:

Mr. D.V. Nagarjuna Babu Counsel for the respondents: Mr. G. Vidyasagar, Senior Counsel The Court made the following:

Order: (per Hon'ble Sri Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan) The petitioners, Racharla Laxman and Kasam Naveen Kumar, have filed the present contempt case inter alia on the ground that the respondents have willfully, deliberately and maliciously, disobeyed the order dated 05-02-2019, passed by this Court in I.A.No. 1 of 2019 in W.A.No. 58 of 2019. By the aforesaid order, this Court had directed the respondents, the Northern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited, to give effect to the direction issued by the learned single Judge in W.P. No.36812 of 2018.

By order dated 1812-2018, passed in the said writ petition, the learned single Judge had directed the respondents to restore the power supply to the property purchased by the petitioners through the Canara Bank without insisting on them to clear the alleged dues of the previous owner, namely M/s Nikitha Agro Tech Para-Boiled Rice Mill. The power had to be restored, according to Mr. D.V. Nagarjuna Babu, the learned counsel for the petitioners, within a period of one week from the date of receipt of the said order. However, despite the order passed on 05-02-2019, the power is yet to be restored. Hence, clearly a contempt has been committed by the respondents.

On the other hand, Mr. G. Vidyasagar, the learned Senior counsel, submits that in order to facilitate the restoration of the power supply, the alleged contemnors had written letter dated 16-02-2019, to the petitioners to submit an application in terms of the General Terms and Conditions of Supply, Distribution and Retail Supply. Along with the said letter, they had enclosed a copy of the application form, which was required to be filled up by the petitioners. However, as the same has not been filed by them, the learned Senior counsel pleads that no contempt is made out. In rejoinder, the learned counsel for the petitioners submits that in fact, a different form was given to the petitioners. When they tried to submit the said form, the respondents have refused to accept the same.

Instead, they had asked the petitioners to file the said form through "Meeseva". Therefore, it is the respondents, who continued to violate the order passed by this Court. The learned Senior counsel gives an undertaking that in case, the petitioners were to duly fill up the application-cum-agreement for supply of electricity, the same shall be accepted by the alleged contemnors. And in case, the application is found to be correct and complete, the power supply shall be restored within a period of three days from the date of acceptance of such an application.

The learned senior counsel is directed to furnish a copy of the application-cum-agreement for supply of electricity (AppendixI) to the learned counsel for the petitioners. The same has, accordingly, been furnished before this Court. Therefore, the petitioners are directed to fill up the said application, and to submit the same before the respondents. The respondents are directed to accept the application form, and to restore the electricity supply within a period of three days from the date of acceptance of the application form.

With these directions, the contempt case is disposed of. As a sequel, Miscellaneous Petitions, pending if any, stand disposed of as infructuous.

______________________________ (Raghvendra Singh Chauhan, ACJ) ____________________ (A.Rajasheker Reddy, J) Dt: 10th April, 2019 lur