HC puts 50% waiver on power bills on hold

Power bill defaulters in Delhi who were expecting a reduced power bill are in for a surprise. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday has stayed the Delhi government’s decision, saying it was not clear if the 50 percent waiver of power bill was passed by the Cabinet, reports CNN-IBN.

The High Court has asked for an affidavit by Friday.

The ruling is in response to the PIL challenging the subsidy granted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to consumers who did not pay their electricity bills from October 2012 to December 2013.

Keeping with party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s request during his campaign against high electricity bills in the capital, the AAP government in Delhi had granted a Rs 6-crore subsidy.

The PIL, filed by Vivek Sharma, was against the Delhi government’s announcement of 50 percent waiver on electricity bills of people who defaulted in payment, saying it will “spread chaos and anarchy by rewarding defaulters instead of penalising them”.

The petition has also challenged AAP government's move to withdraw cases of power theft lodged against those who did not pay their dues.