New Delhi, April 9 A Delhi court has convicted a man for electricity theft and fined him ₹1.72 lakh, holding that the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that he was directly tapping power from a distribution pole at his residence in south Delhi.
Additional Sessions Judge Vivek Kumar Gulia convicted Kuldeep under section 135 (electricity theft) of the Electricity Act, 2003, in a case based on a complaint from BSES Rajdhani Power Limited.
"It has been established that sufficient, consistent, and convincing evidence has been presented to show that the accused, Kuldeep, was using the premises during the inspection, and that he was using electricity without any authorized source," the court said in an order dated April 6.
According to the complaint, on August 25, 2020, authorized officers of BSES Rajdhani Power Limited conducted an inspection at the premises occupied by Kuldeep in Katwaria Sarai. They found no electricity meter installed, and power was being drawn directly from a BSES pole using an illegal wire.
Representing the complainant in the court, advocate Atul Jain highlighted that the inspecting team assessed a connected load of about 6.7 kW for domestic use and raised a theft bill of ₹1.27 lakh that remained unpaid.
Multiple members of the inspection team testified during the trial that the premises had no authorized electricity connection and that illegal tapping was taking place. The proceedings were also video-recorded, and the footage corroborated the oral evidence, the court noted.
"The video presented by the complainant side also captured the manner of electricity theft explained by the said witnesses. Furthermore, the accused admitted to the fact of direct theft during his statement under section 313, CrPC (power to examine the accused about incriminating circumstances)," the court said, as it agreed with the prosecution's case.
Rejecting the defence's argument that the convict had no connection with the premises, the court observed that he was present during the inspection as seen in the video, was identified by witnesses, and had failed to produce any material to show that he resided elsewhere. It also noted that Kuldeep had earlier settled two more complaint cases against him, arising out of the same premises, with complete payment.
"It is safe to conclude that the complainant has been able to prove the charge against the accused, Kuldeep, for the offense punishable under section 135 of the Electricity Act, beyond reasonable doubt, and thus, he has been convicted for the said offense," the court held.
In an order dated April 8, the court determined the civil liability of the convict to be ₹1.14 lakh, and considering that Kuldeep had already partially paid ₹24,600 during the trial, he was directed to pay a civil liability of ₹90,344.
In the sentencing order, the court took a lenient view regarding imprisonment, considering the convict's clean antecedents and partial discharge of civil liability. It only imposed a fine of ₹1.72 lakh on him, observing that imposing the statutory minimum penalty would meet the ends of justice.
Meanwhile, the court allowed the convict's plea for suspension of the sentence to enable him to file an appeal, granting him bail on furnishing a personal bond of ₹15,000 with a surety for a period of 60 days.