IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Writ Jurisdiction Case No.348 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-14 Year-2026 Thana- RAMPUR District- Gaya ====================================================== Shrrishta Devi @Sarishta Devi @ Sarista Devi Wife of Sanjeet kumar Resident of Mohalla- Shahid Bhagat Singh Colony, Mustafabad, L.I.G. 325, P.O. and P.S.- Rampur, District- Gayaji, Bihar ... ... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Energy Department, Government of Bihar, Patna. bihar 2. The Chairman-cum-Managing Director, South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited, Bihar bihar 3. The Electrical Executive Engineer, South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited, Gayaji, Bihar bihar 4. Chandan Kumar, The Junior Electricity Engineer, Electricity Supply Division, New Area, Gayaji Chandan Kumar, The Junior Electricity Engineer, Electricity Supply Division, New Area, Gayaji (Urban). Bihar 5. Md. Hasan, Technical Cataegory-1. Electricity Supply Division, New Area, Gayaji (Urban), Bihar bihar 6. Shri Girdhari Prasad, Kaniye Sarni Purush, Electricity Supply Division, New Area, Gayaji (Urban). bihar 7. Sushri Alisha Kumari, Kaniye Sarni Purush, Electricity Supply Division. New Area, Gayaji (Urban), bihar 8. Rahul Kumar, Manavbat, Electricity Supply Division, New Area, Gayaji (Urban), Bihar bihar 9. The Sub-Inspector cum Investigation Officer, Rampur Thana, Gayaji, Bihar bihar ... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Ms.Pragya Sinha, Advocate Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Advocate Mr. Rahul Ranjan, Advocae For the State : Mr. Kamlesh Kishore, AC to SC-12 For SBPDCL : Dr. Anand Kumar, Advocate Mr. Rajan Prakash, Advocate Ms. Anuradha Mishra, Advocate ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN KUMAR JHA ORAL JUDGMENT Date : 23-07-2026 Patna High Court CR. WJC No.348 of 2026 dt.23-07-2026 2/7 The present writ petition has been filed seeking following relief(s):- "(i) For issuance of order(s) / direction(s) or writ(s) in the nature of Certiorari for quashing and setting aside the illegal, arbitrary and unauthorized seizure of smart meter on dated 10/01/2026 of the petitioner effected by Respondent No.4 (Junior Engineer) and thereafter lodging Rampur Thana P.S. Case No.14 of 2026 on dated 10/01/2026 at 20:15 PM under section 135 of The Bihar Electricity Act, 2003, being wholly without jurisdiction, contrary to the provisions of the Bihar Electricity Act. 2003 and in violation of the Principles of natural justice. And/or (ii) For issuance of order(s) / direction(s) or writs in the nature of Mandamus directing the competent authority to initiate departmental and disciplinary proceedings against Respondent No.4 for (a) acting beyond jurisdiction (b) illegal seizure of property (c) abusive of official position and (d) use of derogatory and abusive language against Learned Advocate and the Hon'ble Courts and also directing to registration of appropriate proceedings in accordance with law against the erring official i.e. respondent no.4 for criminal misconduct, criminal Patna High Court CR. WJC No.348 of 2026 dt.23-07-2026 3/7 intimidation, trespassing in house. And/or (iii) For issuance of order(s) / direction(s) or writ(s) in the nature of Mandamus directing to respondent authorities to cancel the illegal demand of electricity bill of Rs. 68,383/- with oral 12,000/- compounding fee and pay compensation of Rs. 5,00,000 for illegal demand, mental harassment, trespassing house without permission and criminal misconduct, intimidation to the petitioner. And/or (iv) For issuance of any further order (s)/ direction (s) or writ(s) which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the instant case.” 02. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has been using a prepaid meter and there was no theft of electricity as alleged in the FIR. The seizure list does not contain the signature of any of the inmates of the house where the raid was conducted. Learned counsel further submits that no family member is staying in the premises for last three years and for last ten days the son of the petitioner has been staying in the premises. Learned counsel also submits that the search and seizure was illegal. Smart prepaid meter was installed by the Electricity Department itself. Even then the electricity company raised a bill for an amount of Rs.68,383/- Patna High Court CR. WJC No.348 of 2026 dt.23-07-2026 4/7 and for restoring the connection the petitioner was forced to make payment of the said amount. Asking for the payment of bill raised in this manner is bad in itself. Learned counsel further submits that the act of the respondent electricity authorities in entering and conducting search and inspection of the residential premises of the petitioner without issuing any prior notice, without written authorization and without informing or ensuring the presence of the petitioner or any adult member of the family, is wholly illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional which also amounts to serious invasion of the right to privacy of the petitioner. Learned counsel lastly submits that the petitioner is a lady and she has suffered much on account of illegal act of the respondent electricity company. 03. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited submits that the present writ petition is not maintainable as multiple reliefs, civil and criminal, have been sought in the writ petition. The electricity authority acted within the parameters of conducting raid during search and seizure and in terms of provisions of Section 135 of the Electricity Act the FIR has been lodged. The present writ petition is devoid of any substance and the theft of electricity was discovered in the premises of the petitioner and Patna High Court CR. WJC No.348 of 2026 dt.23-07-2026 5/7 consequently the first information report was lodged vide Rampur P.S. Case No. 14 of 2026. Learned counsel further submits that for inspection, raid, search and seizure no prior notice was required in case of suspected theft of electricity. The smart meter was seized strictly in accordance with the statutory provisions upon detection of meter bypassing and mere absence of pending dues does not negate theft by direct tapping. Learned counsel further submits that, moreover, the petitioner was found committing theft of the electricity by bypassing the meter by tapping incoming service wire. The financial loss was assessed to be Rs.68,383/- to the electric company and this amount was raised and duly paid by the petitioner. Learned counsel further submits that the contents of the FIR show commission of an offence under Section 135 of the Electricity Act for dishonest abstraction of electricity. Learned counsel further submits that moreover the petitioner has got alternative remedy under the provisions of Electricity Act and filing of the writ petition is an abuse of the process of law. Learned counsel lastly submits that the respondent authorities have properly conducted the raid under the provisions of law, detected theft of electricity and raised bills strictly in accordance with law, hence, there is no infirmity in the entire process and the writ petition of the Patna High Court CR. WJC No.348 of 2026 dt.23-07-2026 6/7 petitioner is not maintainable. 04. Perused the record. 05. From perusal of the record, I find that the petitioner has filed the present writ petition firstly for setting aside the act of search and seizure in the premises of the petitioner by which the respondent authorities claimed to have detected theft by the petitioner and lodged case under Section 135 of the Electricity Act apart from seeking to cancel the demand of Rs.68,383/- on account of theft bill and also for compounding fee of Rs.12,000/- apart from compensation of Rs.5,00,000/- and initiation of departmental and disciplinary proceedings against respondent no. 4. 06. Having regard to the rival submission of the parties and on perusal of record, I find that the present writ petition is completely misconceived and has been filed only to obstruct the proceeding which has been taking place in connection with Rampur P.S. Case No. 14 of 2026. From the contents of the FIR, prima facie, a case under Section 135 of the Electricity Act is made out. The petitioner has miserably failed to show that there was any malafide intention on part of the respondent authorities or the institution of FIR was against any statutory provision. Further, the issues raised by the petitioner Patna High Court CR. WJC No.348 of 2026 dt.23-07-2026 7/7 pertain to the trial and disputed question of facts raised by the petitioner could not be adjudicated by this Court in a writ petition. Therefore, finding no merit in the present writ petition, the same is dismissed. DKS/- (Arun Kumar Jha, J) AFR/NAFR NAFR CAV DATE NA Uploading Date 24.07.2026 Transmission Date 24.07.2026