The Lahore High Court has ruled that a domestic electricity connection cannot be disconnected to recover dues allegedly owed on a separate industrial connection, protecting consumers from having their residential power supply used to recover disputed commercial liabilities.
Justice Jawad Hassan issued the ruling on a petition filed by Ghazi Akhtar Khan and directed the authorities to refrain from taking coercive action against his residential electricity connection.
The court observed that a fully paid residential connection cannot be used as leverage to recover disputed dues linked to an industrial connection. It noted that the residential connection had a separate meter, reference number, billing record and payment history, with the petitioner having regularly paid his residential bills.
The court further held that even if both electricity connections belonged to the same person, authorities could not disconnect one connection to recover disputed dues associated with another.
The court also observed that electricity is a basic necessity linked to the right to life and directed the authorities to provide all concerned parties, particularly the petitioner, with an opportunity to be heard before taking any further action.
The authorities were directed to decide the matter within two weeks. Until a decision is reached on the petition, the court ordered that no coercive action be taken against the petitioner’s residential electricity connection.
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