Man detained till rising of the court for stealing power

Additional Sessions Judge Suresh Kumar Gupta sentenced West Delhi resident Iqbal on a complaint by BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd that he had been stealing electricity.

The court awarded him the mild sentence saying that any substantive sentence would affect his family.

"There is nothing on the record to show that he was previously convicted for the same offence. The premises was used for domestic purposes. The convict is ready to deposit the entire civil liability. I am of the view that any substantive sentence will affect his family," the court said.

"Interest of justice shall be met by taking a lenient view. Convict is sentenced to undergo imprisonment till rising of the court," the court added.

The prosecution case dated back to May 12, 2008 when a joint inspection team had raided the convict's house and had found that he was consuming electricity by tapping into the main power supply of the discom.

The discom, subsequently served Iqbal with a bill of Rs 3,58,467 for the stolen electricity. As he failed to pay the bill, the company had filed the complaint.

The prosecution had sought stringent punishment for the convict, while the defence counsel had sought leniency on the ground that the convict is old, a first time offender and had a large family to support.