Plea against AAP for giving power subsidies likely to be heard today

New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the subsidy granted by the Aam Aadmi Party government to those who did not pay their electricity bills from October 2012 to December 2013, is likely to be heard on Wednesday. Keeping with party leader Arvind Kejriwal's request during his campaign against high electricity bills in the capital, the AAP government in Delhi had granted a Rs 6 crore subsidy.

The PIL, filed by advocate Vivek Sharma, has been filed against Delhi government's announcement of 50 per cent waiver on electricity bills of people who defaulted in payment, saying it will "spread chaos and anarchy by rewarding defaulters instead of penalising them."

The petition has also challenged AAP government's move to withdraw cases of power theft lodged against those who did not pay their dues.

The PIL, which has also made Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleague Manish Sisodia a party to the case, claims it is on their advice that over 24,000 consumers stopped paying their power bills. "These people have not paid their bills from October 2012 to December 2013," the PIL has said.

The petition has also alleged Delhi government's decision discriminates against those who paid their bills on time. "The action of the state will benefit only those who participated in the illegal acts and did not pay the dues of electricity bill, which is clearly a violation of law and discriminatory against the rest of the citizens of Delhi," the PIL contended.