Telangana High Court
Telangana State Northern Power ... vs Shaik Karim Bee on 20 October, 2022
Bench: Ujjal Bhuyan, C.V. Bhaskar Reddy
THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE UJJAL BHUYAN
AND
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.BHASKAR REDDY
WRIT APPEAL No.676 of 2022
JUDGMENT: (Per the Hon'ble the Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan)
Heard Mr. Zakir Ali Danish, learned counsel for the
appellants and Mr. Karunakar Reddy, learned counsel for
the respondents.
2. Telangana State Northern Power Distribution
Company Limited and its officials are the appellants before
us.
3. The writ appeal has been preferred against the order
dated 08.08.2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in
W.P.No.19212 of 2021 filed by the respondents.
4. Order dated 08.08.2022 reads as under:
"The petitioners herein are admittedly in
possession of the disputed land. Land Grabbing O.P. in
L.G.O.P.No.168 of 2015 is pending against the
petitioners herein on the file of the learned Principal
District Judge, Khammam. The said L.G.O.P. was filed
by the petitioner in W.P. No.20889 of 2020.
It is contended by the learned counsel for the
petitioners that the petitioners belong to BPL families
and as there is no power supply to their houses, they
are put to severe hardship. The land grabbing case
pending against the petitioners cannot be a ground for
not sanctioning power connection to the houses of the
petitioners.
As admittedly houses have been constructed on
the disputed land by the petitioners which had been in
existence for the past several years, there shall be
interim direction to the respondents to sanction power
supply connection to the houses of the petitioners
situated at Telangana Nagar, Palvancha Town,
Bhadradri Kothagudem District, within a period of three
(3) weeks from today, pursuant to the individual Mee-
Seva applications dated 24.06.2021 submitted by the
petitioners. However, sanction of power supply
connection/s to the petitioners shall be subject to
further orders in the L.G.O.P. and the present writ
petition.
Post on 19.09.2022."
5. From the above, it is evident that respondents are
facing land grabbing proceedings on account of alleged
illegal possession of the disputed land. Learned Single
Judge noted that respondents had constructed structures
on the disputed land and are residing there for the last
several years. Therefore, learned Single Judge directed the
appellants to sanction power supply to the respondents,
however making the same subject to further orders that
may be passed in the land grabbing proceedings.
6. In the hearing, we have queried learned counsel for
the respondents as to what the respondents do for their
livelihood. In response, he submits that the respondents
are daily wage earners.
7. We are not inclined to interfere with the aforesaid
order of the learned Single Judge, firstly, for the reason
that the same is an interim order and the writ petition is
pending before the learned Single Judge. Secondly, we
have held on more than one occasion that even in a case of
illegal encroacher, access to water and electricity is a basic
minimum requirement for human existence. Till it is
proved that the respondents are land grabbers and are
evicted in the land grabbing proceedings in accordance
with law, they are entitled to water and electricity to live as
human beings. We therefore decline to entertain the writ
appeal.
8. Writ appeal is accordingly dismissed.
Miscellaneous applications pending, if any, shall
stand closed. However, there shall be no order as to costs.
______________________________________
UJJAL BHUYAN, CJ
______________________________________
C.V.BHASKAR REDDY, J
20.10.2022
vs
