The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. to restore the electricity connection at Samajwadi Party MP Zia-Ur Rehman’s house, provided he deposits a permissible amount of ₹6 lakhs to maintain his appeal.
A Division Bench, comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Sandeep Jain, passed the order on a writ petition filed by the Sambhal MP in the electricity theft case and gave Mr. Rehman two weeks to deposit the money.
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“Submission is that even if the inspection report and adverse facts allegedly found therein are accepted, no jurisdiction arose with the respondent authorities to make assessment for a period of 12 years,” the Court observed in its June 4 order.
“The maximum period for which assessment may have been made could not exceed one year. By breaching the statutory period of assessment, wholly unnatural and arbitrary demand of ₹1 crore and 91 lakhs has been raised. The petitioner cannot be made to deposit 50% of such illegal demand to maintain an appeal,” the Court said.
