Section 152 of EA 2003, Electricity Act : Section 152: Compounding Of Offences

Explanation using Example

Imagine a scenario where a business owner, Mr. Sharma, operates a textile manufacturing unit and has been found to have illegally tapped into the electrical grid to power his machinery, thereby committing theft of electricity. The state electricity board discovers the theft and calculates that the stolen electricity amounts to a substantial additional load of 15 KW that was not metered or billed.

Under Section 152 of The Electricity Act, 2003, instead of pursuing a criminal case, the appropriate government authority offers Mr. Sharma the option to compound the offence by paying a sum of money. Given that Mr. Sharma's textile manufacturing unit falls under 'Industrial Service', the rate for compounding the offence is twenty thousand rupees per KW of the stolen electricity.

According to the table in the Act, Mr. Sharma would have to pay a compounding fee of 15 KW x ₹20,000 per KW, totaling ₹300,000 to avoid criminal prosecution. Mr. Sharma decides to accept this offer and pays the sum. Consequently, he is released from custody and no criminal proceedings are initiated or continued against him, as per sub-section (2) and (3) of Section 152. This compounding is treated as an acquittal, and Mr. Sharma will not be able to compound an offence of this nature again, as it is allowed only once per person or consumer as stated in sub-section (4).