Patna: The Patna high court, in a significant verdict, held that no case of electricity theft is made out if the power consumption reading meter is found untampered and functioning normally.The court also held that to prosecute a person on charges of electricity theft, personnel from power distribution companies must establish a dishonest intention to cheat through unscrupulous activities such as tampering with the meter or using an electric line without a valid connection.In the absence of such criminal intention, the consumer is liable only for fines or penalties.A single bench of justice Jitendra Kumar, while quashing an FIR of electricity theft lodged against Md Shahid Imam, passed the verdict on June 22. The judgement was uploaded on the high court website on Aug 7.A raid was conducted at Shahid’s house after it was alleged that he was consuming electricity even after his power connection had been disconnected owing to overdue electricity bills amounting to Rs 5.34 lakh. Personnel of the south Bihar power distribution company subsequently lodged an FIR at Nawada police station.The court, however, did not find the incident to constitute a case of electricity theft, observing that the meter had not been tampered with and was functioning normally.
