The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has issued contempt notices against the chairman-cum-managing director of Mula Pravara Electric Company and its advocate for trying to frustrate orders passed by the Bench directing the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) to disconnect power supply to all defaulters, including Mula Pravara Company, a subsidiary of the Mula Pravara Co-operative Society at Shrirampur.
According to information placed before the High Court, Mula Pravara Society had filed a fresh writ petition before the Aurangabad Bench challenging the disconnection notice, and obtained interim relief. This was in the backdrop of the fact that Mula Pravara Society had chosen not to press its application for modification of the order passed by the Nagpur Bench on July 26, directing the MSEB to disconnect power supply of top 100 defaulters, including Mula Pravara Society, if the dues were not cleared.
A Division Bench, consisting of Justice J N Patel and Justice S G Mahajan, took a serious view of the tactic adopted by Mula Pravara Company of "Bench hunting", or choosing a convenient Bench. The High Court issued suo motu contempt notices against the chairman of the society and its legal adviser who represented them before the Nagpur Bench and before the Aurangabad Bench, asking them to show cause within four weeks.
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"Judicial discipline and propriety refrain us from making any observation," the Nagpur Bench noted, pointing out, "We are informed that our Noble and Learned Brothers of Aurangabad Bench are hearing the matter on grant of interim relief".
The Nagpur Bench resisted the practice of overruling the orders passed by the Co-ordinate Benches. A similar situation had come up in the case of recovery of sales tax from liquor barons, the High Court pointed out, describing it as mockery of the system.
The Mula Pravara Society did not press with its application, implying that the MSEB was free to disconnect electric supply to it.
The Mula Pravara Society had moved an application challenging the disconnection notice issued by the MSEB for its failure to pay power tariff to the tune of Rs 269 crore accumulated in the past several years. The society supplies power to more than 150,000 consumers in 123 villages, Pravara Nagar and Ahmednagar Cantonment Board.
The High Court, in its ruling on July 26, had quoted the case of Mula Pravara Sugar Co-operative Society as a blatant example of undue political interference due to which power dues could not be recovered. Pursuant to this landmark ruling, the MSEB had issued disconnection notices to the Mula Pravara Society and had asked them to clear their dues by August 30, or face disconnection.
The counsel for Mula Pravara Society had chosen to withdraw his application seeking modification of order on the plea that the list of top 100 defaulters did not include the applicant society and the order was restricted to only the top 100 defaulters. The Aurangabad bench had stayed the disconnection notice issued by the MSEB.