LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that disconnecting domestic electricity connections to recover arrears from industrial units is unlawful, marking a significant relief for household consumers.
Justice Jawad Hassan issued the ruling while disposing of a petition filed by Ghazi Khan. The petitioner had challenged the practice of penalizing domestic consumers for the non‑payment of dues by industrial units.
LHC directs to resolve non-payment issue
The court directed authorities to ensure a fair hearing for all parties involved and ordered that the matter be resolved within two weeks with a reasoned order in accordance with the law. It also restrained officials from taking any disciplinary action against the petitioner during the proceedings.
In its judgment, the court emphasized that linking domestic electricity disconnections to industrial arrears is “not legally correct” and instructed relevant departments to handle recovery matters strictly within the bounds of law.
The decision is expected to set a precedent for protecting household consumers from arbitrary disconnections and reinforces judicial oversight in matters of utility governance.
