Arrears clearance for fresh electricity connection upheld as a statutory condition before supply to a new owner or purchaser.

Statutory supply regulations can require clearance of arrears, including penalty, before a fresh electricity connection is granted to the same premises. A person who has only applied for supply does not become a consumer until energy is supplied and the required agreement is executed, and Regulation 15(e) permits refusal of reconnection or new connection while arrears remain unpaid. The Board may enforce this condition as part of its statutory supply framework, rather than by proceeding against the property under revenue recovery law, because the rule protects its dues and prevents evasion through transfer of the premises. The Board is therefore entitled to insist on payment of the arrears as a precondition to supply.

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Issues: Whether the Electricity Board can insist on clearance of arrears, including penalty, due from a previous consumer as a precondition for granting a fresh electricity connection to the same premises to a new owner or auction purchaser.

Analysis: The supply regulations framed under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 are statutory in character and bind a prospective consumer once he seeks supply on their terms. A person who has merely applied for supply does not become a consumer under Section 2(c) of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 until he is supplied with energy and executes the required agreement. Regulation 15(e) specifically prohibits reconnection or new connection where arrears are pending and authorises supply only when the arrears, including penalty, are cleared in advance. The Board is not proceeding against the property under the Revenue Recovery Act, but is enforcing its own statutory condition governing supply. The regulation has a direct nexus with the object of protecting the Board's dues and preventing defeat of recovery through successive transfers of the premises. Earlier decisions of the Court and the statutory character of the supply conditions support this interpretation, and the absence of a specific challenge to the regulation also weighs against the petitioner.

Conclusion: The Board is entitled to demand payment of the arrears due in respect of the premises as a condition precedent for granting supply to the new owner or prospective consumer.

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