Neutral Citation No. (2026:JHHC:29886) IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI W.P.(C) No.7241 of 2026 ----- Navneet Singh, S/o Pritam Singh, resident of H. No.15, Line No.1, Manifit, P.O. Telco, P.S. Golmuri, District East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. .......... Petitioner. -Versus- 1. The State of Jharkhand through Chief Secretary, Government of Jharkhand, having office at Project Building, P.O. & P.S.- Dhurwa, District-Ranchi. 2. Chief Managing Director, Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, having office at Engineering Building, H.E.C., Dhurwa, P.O. & P.S.-Dhurwa, District-Ranchi. 3. Deputy Commissioner, East Singhbhum, At, P.O. & P.S.- Sakchi, District-East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. 4. Chief Managing Director, Tata Steel Company Limited, having office At, P.O. & P.S.-Bistupur, District-East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. 5. Managing Director, Tata Steel Company Limited UISL, having office At, P.O. & P.S.-Bistupur, District-East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. 6. Head Officer, Utilities Billing, Tata Steel UISL, having office At, P.O. & P.S.-Bistupur, District-East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. 7. Authorized Officer, Power Service Division, Tata Steel UISL, having office At, P.O. & P.S.-Bistupur, District-East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. 8. Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee, Jamshedpur, At, P.O. & P.S.-Sakchi, District-East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. 9. Sub-Divisional Officer, Jamshedpur, At, P.O. & P.S-Sakchi, District-East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur. .......... Respondents. ----- CORAM : HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR ----- For the Petitioner : Mr. Rajiv Sinha, Advocate Mr. Jitesh Kumar, Advocate For Res. Nos.1 to 3 : Mr. Tarun Kr. Mahato, AC to AG For Res. No.4 : Mr. Amitabh Prasad, Advocate For Res. Nos.5 to 7 : Mr. Indrajit Sinha, Advocate Mr. Ankit Vishal, Advocate For Res. No.8 : Mr. Vijay Kr. Roy, Advocate ----- Order No.04 Date: 06.10.2026 1. The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of direction upon the respondent nos.5 to 7 to immediately restore the electrical connection in the commercial premises of the petitioner Neutral Citation No. (2026:JHHC:29886) named and styled as “New Furniture World” and “All That Drives” covering total area of 3500 sq. ft., which, according to him, has illegally been disconnected on the pretext of unauthorized extension of electrical connection to the premises- “All That Drives” from the connection of “New Furniture World”. The petitioner has also challenged the letter dated 16th March, 2026 (Annexure-5 to the writ petition), issuing show cause to the petitioner to pay an amount of Rs.1,75,578/-. The petitioner has further prayed for quashing the letter dated 8th May, 2026 (Annexure-7 to the writ petition), wherein it has been stated that the petitioner was found in the act of unauthorized use of electricity. 2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the materials available on record. 3. The petitioner had made an application to the respondent-Tata Steel Limited seeking new electrical connection for commercial premises named as “New Furniture World”, covering an area of 2400 sq. ft., situated at Ward No.01, plot no.157B, Gurudwara Basti, Outer Circle Road, Near GST Bhawan, Bistupur, Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum for a load of 15 KW. According to the respondent- Tata Steel UISL, the electrical connection was provided to the said premises, sanctioning load of 14 KW (LTCS). 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner refers to Annexure-2 to the writ petition, submitting that the petitioner had applied for a fresh electrical connection with respect to his commercial premises covering total area of 3500 sq. ft. and his both the firms, namely, Neutral Citation No. (2026:JHHC:29886) “New Furniture World” and “All That Drives” are situated over the same plot and premises. 5. On the said factual submission, Mr. Indrajit Sinha, learned counsel for the respondent nos.5 to 7 submits that no other commercial electrical connection has been provided to the petitioner except the one for “New Furniture World” covering an area of 2400 sq. ft. The said fact would be also evident from the electricity bills issued to the petitioner. 6. It further appears from the record that during inspection of the premises on 12th March, 2026, the respondents found that electrical connection given to “New Furniture World” was extended in an unauthorized manner to a shop, namely, ”All That Drives” and on the same day the electrical connection of both the premises was disconnected. Thereafter, a show cause notice along with provisional assessment under Section 126 of the Electricity Act, 2003 was issued to the petitioner, asking him to submit his explanation/objection. The petitioner thereafter submitted his objection on 23rd March, 2026 and on receipt of the said objection, final order of assessment under Section 126 of the Electricity Act, 2003 was passed on 8th May, 2026, assessing an amount of Rs.3,49,140/- for unauthorized use of electricity. After deducting the amount of Rs.1,73,562/- already paid by the petitioner towards electricity dues, a demand of Rs.1,75,578/- was made from the petitioner for unauthorized use of electricity. 7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondent authorities have wrongly proceeded with the allegation that the Neutral Citation No. (2026:JHHC:29886) petitioner was unauthorizedly using electricity for both the firms. In fact, the petitioner was permitted to use the electrical connection for both the business establishments situated over the same plot and premises, having total area of 3500 sq. ft. 8. Be that as it may. 9. Since final assessment under Section 126 of the Electricity Act, 2003 with respect to the alleged unauthorized use of electricity has already been made by the respondent-Tata Steel UISL, this Court is of the view that the petitioner has an efficacious/ statutory remedy of preferring appeal under Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003 against the final order of assessment. Hence, the petitioner is given liberty to invoke the said provision. 10. Since the electrical connection of the petitioner has been disconnected on 12th March, 2026 pursuant to the inspection, if the petitioner deposits 50% of the demanded amount as per the letter dated 8th May, 2026 i.e., Rs.87,789/- with the respondent- Tata Steel UISL, the electrical connection of the business premises- “New Furniture World” will be restored within 24 hrs. of the said deposit, which will be subject to the outcome of the appeal as may be preferred by the petitioner under Section 127 of the Electricity Act, 2003. 11. The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of. (Rajesh Shankar, J.) 6th October, 2026 Sanjay/ Uploaded on 07.10.2026