The high court has directed the managing director of Bescom to file an affidavit and take a specific stand as to whether the electricity supply company has the authority to set up transformers on footpaths without seeking consent or approval of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka is hearing a PIL petition filed by G B Athri, a retired wing commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The petitioner argued that the installation of transformers on roads and footpaths is not only haphazard but that it also poses grave danger to human lives.
Bescom claimed that it has the powers to set up the transformers under the Electricity Act and the Telegraph Act.
