HYDERABAD, Oct 24: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, on Wednesday directed the superintendent engineer, Hesco, to be present in the court on Oct 30 in connection with the matter of 10 petitioners seeking directives from Hesco authorities against the removal of their meters.

The court directed that the interim order, restraining respondent Hesco authorities from removing the meters, would continue till the next date of hearing.

The 10 petitioners who moved the court through lawyer Hassan Mehmood Baig included M Afzal Arain, Alim Din, Rahat Ali, Dr Muhammad Taqi, Mirza Shafique Baig, Syed Qasim Ali, M Yameen, Ms Anwar Jehan, Afroz Alam, and Nazim Ali.

Advocate Idrees Naqshbandi represented the Hesco.

The bench comprised Mr Justice Shabbir Ahmed and Mr Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.

The petitioners who were residents of Unit No6 Latifabad had cited Wapda through its chairman, Wapda House, Lahore, Hesco, through its chief executive, superintendent engineer, Circle-I, Hesco, executive engineer, Latifabad, and sub-divisional officer as respondents.

They claimed that all of them had separate electricity connections to their premises and were provided separate meters by the respondent Hesco officials with separate accounts, and added that they were getting separate electricity bills regularly and were making payment of the same since long.

They said that they had not committed any breach of agreement under which the department was supplying them electricity.

They said that in September, some of the petitioners received notices from the Shaheed Umeed Ali Sub-Divisional office of Hesco, Latifabad, requiring them to explain within three days as to why more than one meter was installed in their houses otherwise the meters would be removed and only one connection would be allowed to them.

The court had directed the petitioners that they would pay the current and future bills for the energy consumed but the respondent Hesco officials would not remove the meters.

They said that they had replied to the notice but the SDO, Hesco, Latifabad sub-division, removed the meters from the houses/bungalows of the petitioners.

They termed the action as mala fide and illegal, causing harassment to the petitioners and putting them in trouble.