The Allahabad High Court has sought a personal affidavit from the Managing Director of the U.P Power Corporation Limited with details of the investigation of corruption worth crores by the engineers, employees of the department by making fake electricity bills of consumers.
The Division Bench of Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Jayant Banerji passed this order while hearing a bunch of petitions.
Counsels for the petitioners jointly submitted that the respondents have filed false and misleading affidavits and in fact the authorities from bottom to top are hand in gloves and are involved in harassing ordinary consumers which results in extreme corruption.
Counsels for the petitioners have drawn the court’s attention to a news item published in a daily newspaper ‘Hindustan’ on 18.4.2022 titled as “Now crores of rupees scam in electricity bill revision”.
They further submitted that in this news item it is mentioned that the Managing Director of the U.P Power Corporation Limited has constituted a special team to enquire into corruption of about Rs 22 crores by departmental engineers and employees in matters of bill revision.
However, neither in the counter affidavit filed by the State Government there is any reference to any such enquiry nor in the letter of the Managing Director of the U.P Power Corporation, filed to the counter affidavit, there is any reference of any such enquiry.
In various affidavits filed before the Court in a batch of these writ petitions, the respondents have made endeavors to give a picture as if actions are being taken but in reality, prima facie, The Court observed that practically no actions are taken. Despite there being commission of offences as indicated by us in our earlier orders, no material has been brought on record to indicate that any action has been taken by the State Government or the Managing Directors of the concerned Power Distribution Corporation or the Managing Director of the U.P Power Corporation Limited.
Standing counsel submitted that the State Government shall bring on record details relating to enquiry purportedly instituted in matters of corruption relating to revision of bills. It shall not be out of place to mention that in the present batch of writ petitions fake demands were firstly raised and the grievances of the petitioners are not addressed by the respondents and when they filed writ petitions then respondents have admitted before the Court that fake bills/demands were created against the petitioners.
“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and submissions of the counsel for the parties, we direct the State Government to file his personal affidavit within three days bringing on record the facts relating to enquiry instituted by the Managing Director of the U.P Power Corporation Limited in the matters of corruption in bill revisions, if any.
Interim orders, if any, granted in the aforesaid writ petitions are extended till the next date fixed”, the Court ordered.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on April 26, 2022.