The central high court of Sindh ordered the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to take action against K-Electric on account of unannounced loadshedding.
Karachi Electric Supply Company (also known as K-Electric) has gained notoriety these past few days for not providing electricity in most areas of the day (including during Iftar and Sehri timings in some localities) in Karachi.
Sindh High Court (SHC) with a two member bench, chaired by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, has ordered NEPRA to take any and all legal actions against the power utility company saying that K-Electric should follow NEPRA’s guidelines.
It should be noted that NEPRA made area-wide loadshedding illegal on January 22, 2016.
The hearings at SHC began on Monday after a petition was filed regarding unannounced loadshedding by K-Electric. The petition was filed by social activist Karamat Ali who was presented in the court.
Mr Karamat’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui argued that electricity supply for an entire area should not suffer due to non payment of bills from one person. He continued, saying that electricity theft should not be remedied by cutting power supply to everyone in a given area and instead the thief should pay the price.
During the hearing, officials of K-Electric were also present.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) had ordered K-Electric back in 2014 to avoid loadshedding during the holy month of Ramzan, according to Mr. Faisal. Despite the order, 80% of Karachi did not have electricity during Sehr on the first day of Ramzan this year.
The court reserved its decision for later on the same day.
Loadshedding in Karachi has sparked a series of protests across the city. So much so that even the likes of Spiderman were seen protesting right next to everyone.
Read More: This Desi Spiderman is Becoming a Regular at Political Events in Pakistan
He went on to wrap himself up in chains to mock K-Electric, saying that the power utility was holding people as hostages.