C o u r t N . 2 2 S l 1 5 1 / C L 12.08.26 D/L Sl-07 Ct. 07 (Samar) WPA 19579 of 2026 Md. Salim Vs. CESC Limited & Ors. Mr. Indranil Halder, Ms. Neha Singh, ….for the petitioner. Mr. Raja Saha, Mr. Sanjay Kukherjee, ….for the Ombudsman. Dr. Madhusudan Saha Ray, Mr. Anirban Tarafdar, Mr. Soham Bose, …for the respondent nos. 2 and 3. 1. This writ petition has been filed assailing an order passed by the Grievance Redressal Officer, CESC Limited (i.e. GRO) on April 30, 2026 asserting that the office of the Appellate Authority of the GRO being the Ombudsman is vacant. 2. Mr. Halder, learned advocate appearing for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has duly filed an appeal against the order dated April 30, 2026 before the Ombudsman which has been registered as G.R. Case No. C 22YM/2026. However, the said appeal has not yet been disposed of. It is submitted that during pendency of the appeal, the incumbent in the post of Ombudsman has demitted office and such office is presently vacant. 2 3. Mr. Saha, learned advocate appearing for the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission submits that the office of the Ombudsman is no longer vacant inasmuch as, the new incumbent has already taken charge. 4. Since the new incumbent has already taken charge, therefore, this Court is of the opinion that the matter should be dealt with by the Ombudsman himself before whom the appeal being G.R. Case No. C 22YM/2026 has been lodged. 5. Mr. Halder submits that the matter is urgent inasmuch as the entire building is in the dark. 6. It will be open to Mr. Halder to impress upon the Ombudsman to take up the appeal for urgent hearing. 7. If such an application is made, the Ombudsman would consider the same and prepone the date, if possible. The Ombudsman shall decide the petitioner’s appeal on the basis of the material on record and dispose of the same as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of one month from the date of making of the application for urgent hearing. 8. It is made clear that the Ombudsman will provide an opportunity of hearing and of filing requisite documents and submissions to the petitioner as well as the respondent electricity licensee in 3 accordance with law. 9. Accordingly, WPA 19579 of 2026 stands disposed of. No Costs. 10. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities. (Om Narayan Rai, J.)