Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has upheld the decision of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), which had said that there is no need for proof of occupation of a building in the form of an Occupancy Certificate, to be issued by the respective municipal bodies, for obtaining electricity connection and supply in the State.
Justice Vineet Kothari passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which had challenged the April 9, 2015, order of the KERC.
The KERC, while terming electricity as “an essential commodity for all the persons” had ordered that “even a person, whose occupation of a building is not as per the provisions of the Municipality Act and Bylaws, is entitled for supply of electricity to his premises, if he satisfies the provisions of the Conditions of Supply (CoS)” framed under the provisions of the Electricity Act.
Hubbali-based Vidyuth Grahakara Hitarakshana Vedike and Karnataka State Licensed Electrical Contractors Association had approached KERC in 2015 questioning the communications issued by the State government on July 17, 2014, to all electricity supplying companies not to provide electricity connections sans necessary sanction/certificate from municipal authorities.
