Once again, the courts have underscored the importance of electricity as a fundamental right in order to make the protections offered by Article 21 of the Constitution meaningful. For several years, judicial decisions have favoured citizens seeking electricity connections, deeming it a right, even for dwellings in unauthorised colonies.

This time, the Allahabad High Court has struck a blow for an applicant who was refused a power connection on the ground that his premises in Rae Bareli were the subject of a legal dispute over ownership. The arbitrary refusal of the electricity distributor to accept his application for a connection was found to be contrary to law, since ownership alone is not the qualifying criterion and it is enough to prove occupancy of the property and submit an indemnity declaration under the........

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