 to the indian electricity (amendment) bill, 1911 l-th bsz/ae introduced in ipk $qbha 71 page 3, line 34,-tqi "clause" ~ "clau!le8"' 2 page 5, line s 2 and 3,-i / tql: f shall be itp1mishable t ~ '''shall be punishable t 3 rage?, in the marginal heading ~ eeetion"",w { m "undertaking" ~ "undeptakingrj!f 4 page 8, line 9,- : tor "tbreof"" ~ "the reo ft·n 5 page 8, line 28,-for "lj,cenee" ma4 ''license it agraha,yana 1 , 181)9 t 8aka)  bill no 143 of 1177 - j the indian electricity (amendment) bill, 1977a bill further to amend the indian electricity act, 191'0 be it enacted by parliament in the twenty-eighth year of the republic of india as follows:-l this act may be called the indian electricity (amendment) act, 1m short title 9 of 1910 5 2 in section 1 of the indian electricity act, 1910 (hereinafter referred amendto as the principal act'), in s'ub-section (1), the word "indian" shall be ment of omitted section 1 amendment of section 5 3 in sub-section (2) of section 5 of the principal act, for the words, brackets, figures and letter iisub-sections (1) and (2) of section 7 a, or 10 as thle case may be, sub-section (3) of that section", the words, brackets, figures and letter "alub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of section 7a" shall be s1&bstituted 4: in section 6 of the principal act,-amendment of secuon 6 (i) after sub-section (5), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-is "(5a) where a notice exercising the option of purchasing the undertaking has been served upon the licensee under this section, th~ licensee shall deliver the undertaking to the state electricity board, the state government or the local authority, 20 as the case may be, on the expiration of the rjelevant period referred to in suh-section (1) pending the determination and payment of the v· '~chase price: provided that in any such cue, the purchaser shall pay to the licensee, interest at the reperve bank rate ruling at the time of delivery of the undertaking plus ode per centum on the purchase price of the undertaking for the period from the date of delivery of the undertaking to the date of payj1tent of the pur-s chase price"; (ii) sub-section (6) shall be omitted amendment of section 7 5 in section 7 of the principal act, for the words, brackets and figures "or under sub-section (6) of section 6", the words, brackets, figures and letter "or under sub-section (sa) of section 6" shall be substituted 10 • in section 7 a of the principal act,-amendment of lection '1 a (i) for sub-sections (1) to (1) the following sub-sections shall be substituted, namely:-" (1) wh~ an undertaking of a licensee is sold under subsection (1) of section 5, the purchase price of the undertaking is shall ·be the book value of the undertaking at the time of purchase or where thle undertaking has been delivered before the purchase under sub-section (3) of that section, at the time of delivery of the undertaking (2) for the purposes of sub-sedtion (1), the book valule of 20 an undertaking shall be an amount equal to the sum of-(i) the original cost of fixed asset" available for use and necessary for the purpose of the undertaking; (ii) the cost of intangible assets, including expenses on account of the new capital issue; ·35 (iii) the original eost of works in progrefll; (iv) the cost of stores, materials and supplies including fuel on hand which are required for the purpose o·f the undertaking, lebb-30 (a) the amounts written oft or set aside ollaccount of depreciation of fixed assets and the amounts written ,of! 1a respect of intangible assets in the books of the undertaking;" (b) the oririnal cost of service lines or other capital works or part thereof which bave ~ constructed at the expense 35 of the consumers or any other deposits made by the consumers: provided that where the state electricity board, tq state go'nment or the local authority, as the case may be, exerdses an option not to take over any asset of the undertaking ae- 40 quired by the ueensee without the concurrence of the state govet'lumllt una paragraph xv of the sixth schedule to the electricity (supply) act, 1948, th3 value of such asset shall not be included ~8) if there is any -dii!er'ence or dispute regarding the determmation of the book value of the undertaking underaubsection (2), the same shall be determined by arbitl'ation"; 5 (ii) :in sub-aection ~4), for the words, braclclets and figures "sub sections (1) and (2')", the words, bracke~ and figures "sub-sections (1) i (2) and (3)" shall be substituted 1 after section 7a of the principal act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:-inlertion of new section 7aa 10 | power     ||-----------|| take      || pouealion || ot        || under-    || lakin,   |is 20 117aa, (1) if a hdensee upon whom a notice requiring him to deliver the undertaking to the designated purchaser has been served in pursuance of sub-section (3) of section 5 or a notice exercicoing thfq option of purchasing the undertaking has been served under aection 6, refuses or fails to deliver the undertaking as required uolldar aub-llection (3) of section 5, or under sub-section (sa) of section 6, as the case may be, the state electricity board, the state government or the local authority, as the case nuurbe, may, by order in w'riting, require the licensee to dellvie!' qn or before such date as may be specified iri the order, the undertaking to such officer as the ettate electricity board, the state government or the local authority, as the case may be, may appoint in that behalf and the licensee shall comply with such order (21) if the ~ensee fails to comply with an order issued under sub-section' (1), the officer appointed under that sulb-section may forthwith take possession of the undertaking and may take or cause 25 to bel taken such steps and use or cause to lbe used such force as may, in the opinion of such officer, be reasonably necessary for that purpose (,3) on the taking over of possession of the undertaking under sub-section (2), the provision~ of section 7 shall apply as if the un-3p ~g had ,been ~lied to the state electricitty board, the state govemment or the local authority, as the case may be, under sub-section (a) of section 5 or sub-section (sa) of section 6, as the case may t"   8 in bub:-section (2) of section 36a of the principal act, for clause amead-3c (c) and (4), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:-ment of j aectton  (0) one member to be nominated by the central government 8ga ·110 repnsent the union territory qf delhi; ~) one member to be nominated by the central government to ftip1'8sent the union territory of the andaman and nicobar 40 islands;" 9 in section 38 of the principal act, for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:-amendment of section 38 "(3) every rule made '4dder section 37 shall be published in the gazette of india and shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made before each house of parliament while it is in session for a total s period of thirty days, which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall 10 thereafter have eftect only in such modified form or be of no effect as the case may be; so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule" 10 for section 39 of the principal act, the following section shall be substituted, namely: -is substitution of new section for section 39 theft of energy "39 whoe, dishonestly abstracts, consumes or uses any energy shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which shall not be less than five hundred rupees but which may extend to five thousand rupees, 20 or with both: pjrovided that the court may, for any adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a fine of less than five hund rupees:· 11 in section 40 of the principal act, for the words "two years", the 2s words "three years" shall be substituted 12 after section 42 of the principal act, the following section shall be insertled, namely:- "42a whoever-(a) being a licensee or an officer or other employee of the licensee, wilfully fails or refuses to deliver to the officer ap- 30 pointed under sub-section (1) of section 7aa, possession of the undertaking of which such officer is entitled to take, or (b) wilfully obstructs the said oiftcer in entering into pol-session of the undertaking or taking poslsession of any of its 3s property, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which m~ extend to three years, or with fine which mayextend to one thousand rupees, or with both" amendment of section 40 insertion of new section 42a penalty for refus1l10r failure to deliver possession of undertaking and for obstructing the taking of possession thereof amendment of section 44 13 in section 44 of the principal act, for the words "shall be punish- 40 able with fine which may extend to five bundred rupees", the words "shall be punisihable with imprisonment for a tenn which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both" shall be substituted amend ment of section 46 14 in section 46 of the principal act, for the words "shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees", the words shall be "punisbable with imprisonment which may 'extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both" shall be s substituted 15 for section 50 of the principal act, the following sections shall be substituted, namely:-substitution of new sections for seetlod 50 10 institution of prosecutions "50 no prosecution shall be instituted against any person for any offence against this act or any rule, licence or order thereunder, except with the previous sanction of the electrical inspector, district magistrate or sub-divisional magistrate power to compound offences 50a (1) an electrical inspector may, either before or after the institution of any proceedings, compound any offence punishable under section 39, section 40 or section 44: is provided that in a case where proceedings have already been instituted in {my court, no composition under this section shall be made except with the permission of that co~rt (2) where an offence has been compounded, the offender, if in custody, shall be discharged and no further proceedings shall be taken against him in respect of the offence so compounded" 20 16 section 5!,) of the principal act shall be re-numbered as sub-section (2) thereof, and before the sub-section as so re-numbered, the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-amendment of section 55 "(1) the central government may by general or special order authorise the di~charge of any of its functions under sub-section (2) of section 34 by an electrical inspector n the indian electricity act, 1910, deals with the supply and use of electrical energy in the country the act also prescribes procedure for the purchase and take-over of undertakings of private licensees and procedure for determining the purchase price 2 with a view to discouraging theft of energy and tampering with meters and electrical installations, the provisions for punishment of such offences are being made more stringent it is proposed to amend sections 39 40, 44 and 46 of the act suitably 3 the act, at present, does nllt contain a specific provision for taking compulsory possession of an undertaking where a licensee refuses or wilfully fails to deliver possession to the state electricity board, the state government or the local authority it is proposed to incorporate a provision for taking compulsory possession of an undertaking and to provide for suitable penalty for such refusal or failure to deliver possession 4 sub-section (6) of section 6 of the act does not provide for payment of interest on the purchase price of the undertaking for the period between the date of delivery of the undertaking and the date of payment of the purchase price it is proposed to amend section 6 to provide for the payment :>f interest for the said period 5 section 7a of the act provides that where an electrical undertaking ,is sold under section 5, the purchase price of the undertaking shall be the market value of the undertaking at the time of, purchase or where the undertaking has been delivered before the purchase under sub-section (3) of section 5 at the time of the delivery of the undertaking, and if there is any difference or dispute regarding such purchase price, the same shall be determined by arbitration it is proposed to amend this section to provide for payment of book value of the assets of the undertaking which is more realistic instead of the market value 6 the other amendments proposed are minor and consequential in nature '1 the bill s~ks to achieve the aforesaid objects new deu'u; p ramachandran the 2nd december, 1977 - (9 or 1910) - - - - 1 (1) this act may be called the indian electricity ad, 1910 - - - - - s (1) - - - - - shol1 title, extent and commencement prov!-slona where license of a licensee is revoked (2) where an undertaking is sold under sub-section (1), the purchuer shall pay to the licensee the purchase price of the undertaking dettrmined in accordance with the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (z) of section 7a, or as the case may be, sub-section (3) of that section' - - - - - 6 (1) - - - - - purchase of undertakinl (6) where a notice exercising the option of purchasing the undertaking has been served upon the licensee under this section, the licensee shall deliver the undertaking to the state electricty board, the stategovernment or the local authority, as the case may be, on the expiration of the relevant period referred to in sub-section (1) pending the determination and payment of the purchase price - - - - - vesting of the undertaking in the purchuer 7 where an undertaking is sold under section 5 or section 6, then upon the completion of the sale or on the date on which the undertaking is delivered to the intending purchaser under sub-section (3) of section 5 or under sub-section (6) of section 6 as the case may be, whichever is earlitn'-(i) the undertaking shall vest in the purchaser or the 'intencling purchaser, as the case may be, free from any debt, mortgaje or similar obligation of the licensee or attaching to the undertaking: provided that any such debt, mortgage or similar obligation shall attach to the purchase money in substitution for the undertaldngj (ii) the rights, powers, authorities, duties and obligations of the licensee under his license shall stand transferred to the purchaser and such purchaser shall be deemed to be the licensee: provided that where the undertaking is sold or delivered to a state electl'iclty board or the state government, the license shan cease to have further operation determi-7a (1) where an undertaking of a licensee, not being a local' authority, is sold under sub-section (1) of section 5, the purchase price of the undertaking shall be the market value 01 the undertaking at the time of purchase or where the underbking has been delivered before the purcbase under sub-section (3) of that section, at the time of the delivery of the undertaking and if there is any difference or dispute regarding such purchase price, the same shall be determined by arbitration (2) the market value of an undertaking for the purpose of sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be the value of all lands, buildings, works, materials and plant of the licensee suitable to, and used' by him, for the purpose o~ the undertaking, other than (i) a generating station declared by the hcense not to form part of the undertaking for the purpose of purchase, and (itt) service-lines or other capital works or any part threof which have been constructed at the expense of consumers, due regard being had to the nature and condition for the time being of such lands, buildings, works, materials and plant and the state of repair thereof and to the circumstance that they are in such position as to be ready for immediate working and to the suitability of the same for the purpose of the undertaking, but without any addition in respect of compulsory purchase or of goodwill or of any profits which may be or might have been made from the undertaking or of any similar consideration (3) where an undertaking of a licensee, being a local authority is sold under sub-section (1) of section 5, the purchase price of the undertaking shall be such as the state government, having regard to the market value of the undertaking at the date of delivery of the undertaking, may determine (4) where an undertaking of a licensee is purchased under section 6, the purchase price shall be the "alue thereof as determined in accordance with the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2): provided that there shall be added to such value such percentage, if any, not exceeding twenty per centum of that value as may be specified in the licence on account of compulsory purchase - - - - - :mia (1) - - - - - (2) the central electricity board shall consist of the following central electrlcity board members, namely:-- - - - - (c) one member to be nominated by the central government to represent each of the union territories of delhi and himachal pradesh; (d) one member to be nominated by the central government to represent the union territories of manipur, tripura and the andaman and nicobar islands; - - - - - further provisions respecting rules theft of energy 38 (1) - - - - - (3) all rules made under section 37 shall be published in the gazette of india and shall be laid for not less than thirty days before each house of parliament as soon as may be after such publication and shall be subject to such modifications as parliament may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following  - - - - - 39 whoever dishonestly ab!;tracts, consumes or uses any energy shall be deemed to have committed theft within the meanin,;( of the indian penal code; and the existence of artificial means for such abstraction shall 45 of 1860 be prima facie evidence of such dishonest abstraction 40 whoever maliciously causes energy to be wasted or diverted or with in~t to ~t off the supply of energy, cuts or injures, or attempb to cut or ~lure, any electric supply-line or works, shall be punishable with hn~nment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both - - - - - penalty for maliciously wasting energy or injuring works 44 whoever-(cz) connects any meter referred to in section 26, sub-section (1), or any meter, indicator or apparatus referred to in section 26, subsection (7), with any electric supply-line through which energy is supplied by a licensee, or disconnects the same from any such electric supply-line; or (b) lays, or causes to be laid or connects up any works for the purpose of communicating with any other works belonging to a licensee; or penalty for interference with meters or licensee', work and for improper use of energy (~) maliciously injures any meter referred to in section 26, subsection (1'), or any meter, indicator or apparatus referred to in section 26, sub-section (7), or wilfully or fraudulently alters the index of any such meter, indicator or" apparatus, or prevents any such meter, indicator or apparatus kom duly registering; or (d) improperly uses the energy of a licensee; shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, and, in the case of a continuing offence, with a daily fine which may extend to fifty rupees; and if it is proved that any artificial means exist for making such connection as is referred to in clause (cz), or such communication as is referred to in clause (b), or for causing such alteration or prevention as is referred to in clause (c), or for facilitating such improper use as is referred to in clause cd), and that the meter, indicator or apparatus is under the custody or control of the consumer, whether it is his property or not, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such connection, communication, alteration, prevention or improper use, as the case may be, has been knowingly and wilfully caused by such consumer - - - - - 46 whoever negligently causes energy to be wasted or diverted, or negligently breaks, throws down or damages any electric supply-line, post, pole or lamp or other apparatus connected with the supply of energy, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees - - - - penalty for negligently wastjna energy or injuring works institu_ tion of prosecutions so no prosecution shall be instituted against any person for any offence against this act or any rule, license or order thereunder, except at the instance of the government or an electrical inspector, or of a person aggrieoved by the ~e; - - - a bill further to amend the indian electricity act, 1910 (shri p rmnachondr4n, mjnibter of energy) 