ISLAMABAD
The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) has dismissed an appeal filed by the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), upholding a Lahore High Court judgment in favour of Hamdard Laboratories in a dispute over average electricity billing.
During the hearing on Thursday, Justice Aamer Farooq, heading a two-member bench, questioned who should be held responsible if an electricity meter became defective, observing that the meter was owned by LESCO. He further observed that the consumer had not been accused of tampering with the meter.
LESCO’s counsel argued that both the front and back-up meters installed at the consumer’s premises were defective, which had led to average billing. However, counsel for Hamdard Laboratories informed the court that an inquiry conducted to ascertain the facts had found the back-up meter to be functioning properly.
He explained that when the front meter becomes defective, the back-up meter automatically starts operating in its place. After hearing arguments from both sides, the Federal Constitutional Court dismissed LESCO’s appeal and upheld the Lahore High Court’s judgment in favour of Hamdard Laboratories.
