<p>A city court has upheld that a landlord cannot be held responsible for power theft committed by a tenant. It acquitted two brothers facing trial for power theft at their house, which was rented out.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Additional Sessions Judge Narottam Kaushal let off Bharat Singh and Tara Singh, saying the owners of the premises where power theft happened can “at the most” be held guilty for abetment of the crime if there is evidence.<br /><br />BSES complaint<br /><br />They were facing trial after a complaint by discom BSES. The court said they are the owners of the house and the actual electricity “user” who committed the theft, has not been made accused.<br /><br />“The actual occupant of the house who stole power has not been impleaded as accused,” the court said.<br /><br />“There is also no allegation in the complaint that they were involved in the act, so no charges can be framed against them,” it added.<br /><br />Inspection<br /><br />During inspection on June 29, 2007, at a south Delhi property, BSES officials allegedly found that the house owners used electricity to the tune of Rs 2.78 lakh and no meter was installed on the premises.<br /><br />The discom said the accused had been tapping into the BSES main line. After the accused did not pay up, the matter was brought to court under the Electricity Act, 2003.<br /><br />The court, however, said the inspection team had only noted the names of the owners of the premises and not their actual house address.<br /></p>
<p>A city court has upheld that a landlord cannot be held responsible for power theft committed by a tenant. It acquitted two brothers facing trial for power theft at their house, which was rented out.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Additional Sessions Judge Narottam Kaushal let off Bharat Singh and Tara Singh, saying the owners of the premises where power theft happened can “at the most” be held guilty for abetment of the crime if there is evidence.<br /><br />BSES complaint<br /><br />They were facing trial after a complaint by discom BSES. The court said they are the owners of the house and the actual electricity “user” who committed the theft, has not been made accused.<br /><br />“The actual occupant of the house who stole power has not been impleaded as accused,” the court said.<br /><br />“There is also no allegation in the complaint that they were involved in the act, so no charges can be framed against them,” it added.<br /><br />Inspection<br /><br />During inspection on June 29, 2007, at a south Delhi property, BSES officials allegedly found that the house owners used electricity to the tune of Rs 2.78 lakh and no meter was installed on the premises.<br /><br />The discom said the accused had been tapping into the BSES main line. After the accused did not pay up, the matter was brought to court under the Electricity Act, 2003.<br /><br />The court, however, said the inspection team had only noted the names of the owners of the premises and not their actual house address.<br /></p>