The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) on Thursday dismissed an appeal by the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) and upheld a Lahore High Court judgment in favour of Hamdard Laboratories in a LESCO average billing dispute. The case concerned electricity charges calculated on an average basis after meters at the consumer’s premises were said to have failed.
What the court heard
Justice Aamer Farooq headed a two-member bench during the hearing in Islamabad. He asked who should be held responsible if an electricity meter became defective, and observed that the meter was owned by LESCO. He also noted that the consumer had not been accused of tampering with the meter.
LESCO’s counsel told the court that both the front meter and the back-up meter installed at the premises were defective, and that this had led to average billing. Counsel for Hamdard Laboratories said an inquiry into 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 is meant to start operating automatically in its place.
Why the appeal was dismissed
After hearing both sides, the Federal Constitutional Court dismissed LESCO’s appeal. In doing so, it left in place the Lahore High Court judgment that had gone in favour of Hamdard Laboratories on the LESCO average billing issue.
The ruling turns on a practical question familiar to many electricity consumers: when a utility’s meter fails, and a back-up device is in place, who bears the cost of estimated or average charges. In this case, the higher court’s earlier finding for the consumer has now been confirmed at the FCCP.
What consumers should note
This judgment applies to the dispute between LESCO and Hamdard Laboratories; it does not by itself rewrite billing rules for every connection. Still, the court’s emphasis on meter ownership and the absence of any tampering allegation underscores how average billing arguments can turn on whether equipment failure is the utility’s responsibility.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Federal Constitutional Court ne LESCO ki appeal kharij kar di hai. Hamdard Laboratories ke average electricity bill wale mamle mein pehle Lahore High Court ka faisla unke haq mein tha, aur wohi faisla ab qaim hai. Court ne poocha ke agar meter kharab ho to zimmedari kiski hai, kyunke meter LESCO ka tha. Is case ka matlab yeh hai ke average billing par company-consumer jhagra mein pehle wala High Court order hi chalta rahega.
