The Delhi High Court has refused to stay its order directing the police to provide protection to BSES officials who will install electricity connection at the premises of a widow who has been living without any electricity since February this year.
A vacation bench of Justice I S Mehta declined a plea for interim stay on its direction by a temple trustee, who claimed that the woman was illegally occupying the place and the temple property.
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“You (trustee) have moved an application for impleadment. Without hearing them (woman), I cannot stay the order,” the judge said.
It issued notice to 66-year-old Chander Kanta Malhotra, widow of an ex-armyman, and fixed the matter for consideration on July 12.
On July 24, the court had directed the Station House Officer of Lajpat Nagar police station in South Delhi to ensure that BSES officials are protected when they visit the premises of the petitioner lady on July one.
Seeking stay on the court’s direction, the counsel for the trustee contended that they were not heard when the order was passed and stay on operation of that order should be granted as the woman had fraudulently obtained an order from the consumer grievance redressal forum set up under the Electricity Act.
To this, the court said there was “already an order and it is not going to stay it”.
Malhotra, through her counsel Amit Sahni, had alleged that the power connection at her house was disconnected in February this year by a former local councillor in order to force her to vacate the house. A direction for police protection to BSES employees was earlier issued by a consumer grievance redressal forum.
In her petition, the woman had alleged that despite the forum’s order, the police did not provide protection to BSES staffers who had come to install the meter at her premises following the forum’s decision.
Kanta had contended that when the police was approached for protection, it asked the BSES officials to get an order from a civil court.
The lady has been living in the house, built above a wedding hall and adjacent to the temple, since 1992. Until mid-February this year, there was one electricity connection for all the three places.
