Electricity Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 2003
Section 69 of Electricity Act: Electricity Supply & Regulatory Procedure
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
(1)The Appropriate Government may, by order in writing, direct the removal of any tree, structure or other thing which is within such distance of any overhead line as may be prescribed for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the line and the safety of the public.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 69
Section 69 of the Act requires licensees to give prior written notice to telegraph and telecommunication authorities before laying electric lines or executing works near telecommunication conduits, preventing inductive electrical interference.
Mandatory Prior Notice to Telecom Authorities: Obligates the licensee to give not less than fifteen days' prior written notice to telecommunication authorities before laying or altering lines within proximity to telecom cables.
Technical Protective Measures Against Inductive Interference: Requires the licensee to install protective shielding, earthing, and spatial separation to prevent high-voltage harmonic distortion and telecommunication disruption.
Statutory Dispute Arbitration Machinery: Provides that technical disputes regarding proximity and protective measures shall be determined by statutory arbitration under the Act.
Key Landmark Precedents:
Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. v. Century Textiles & Industries Ltd. (2017) 5 SCC 143: Supreme Court recognized that coordination between telecom and power infrastructure is essential to preserve public utility networks.
Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. v. Essar Power Ltd. (2008) 4 SCC 755: Affirmed that statutory dispute mechanisms in the Electricity Act supersede general civil litigation between infrastructure utilities.
State of W.B. v. Pradip Kumar Roy AIR 1969 SC 1201: Affirmed the necessity of harmonious coexistence between overlapping utility networks.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:
Serve formal notice under Section 69 with engineering alignment drawings on the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and telecom operators thirty days prior to trenching; failure to give notice creates direct financial liability for telecom line damages.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 69
Section 69 of the Act requires licensees to give prior written notice to telegraph and telecommunication authorities before laying electric lines or executing works near telecommunication conduits, preventing inductive electrical interference.
Serve formal notice under Section 69 with engineering alignment drawings on the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and telecom operators thirty days prior to trenching; failure to give notice creates direct financial liability for telecom line damages.