Jaipur, Sep 10 The Rajasthan High Court has granted relief to National Democratic Party convenor and MP Hanuman Beniwal in the case of the disconnection of electricity supply at his Nagaur residence.
The court has directed that a payment of Rs 6 lakh be deposited within 72 hours to restore the electricity connection. The residence is registered in the name of Beniwal’s brother, Premsukh Beniwal, who had an outstanding bill of Rs 10.75 lakh.
The Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVVNL) had disconnected the supply on July 2, after issuing repeated notices since May 6. Following the disconnection, Hanuman Beniwal alleged that the move was politically motivated and part of the state government’s vendetta against him.
Seeking relief, he filed a petition in the High Court through his brother. On Wednesday, the court directed Premsukh Beniwal to deposit Rs 6 lakh within three days, after which the connection would be reconnected. The court has also given one month’s time to the settlement committee to resolve the ongoing dispute between the Beniwal family and the electricity department.
According to Nagaur Superintending Engineer (SE) Ashok Chaudhary, AVVNL had launched a special campaign to recover dues and disconnect the supply of defaulters with outstanding bills above Rs 1 lakh.
“Among them, the highest outstanding dues of Rs 10.75 lakh were in the name of Premsukh Beniwal. Despite six notices for settlement and meter change, no payment was made,” he said.
Chaudhary clarified that the connection was cut as per the rules and will only be restored once the court’s order is complied with. He added that the corporation has been consistently acting against major defaulters to ensure recovery of pending dues.
With the High Court’s intervention, Beniwal’s residence is expected to regain electricity supply within the next few days, provided the directed payment is made.
The case has drawn political attention, with Beniwal framing the disconnection as part of a larger campaign against him, while officials maintain it is a matter of dues recovery and rule enforcement.
--IANS
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