An electricity NOC may be refused when the applicant fails to establish title to the premises.

The appellant-Society sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Chief Officer of the Town Municipal Council, Chitaguppa, to obtain an electricity connection for premises at Ward No. 14, Chitaguppa.

After a neighbour objected, the Chief Officer asked the Society to produce ownership documents and refused the NOC. The Society relied on construction permission and tax-paid receipts, but produced no title deed.

Its writ petition challenging the refusal was dismissed by the Single Judge on 31 July 2024; the Society appealed under Section 4 of the Karnataka High Court Act, 1961.

1. Whether the Chief Officer was justified in refusing the NOC when the Society had not produced documents establishing its title to or possession of the premises.

2. Whether the Single Judge’s dismissal of the writ petition disclosed an error warranting appellate interference.

The appeal was brought under Section 4 of the Karnataka High Court Act, 1961.

The Court’s stated reasoning was that, in the absence of a title deed establishing the applicant’s ownership, an electricity connection could not be granted to a “stranger”; tax receipts were not title deeds.

The Society had not produced records establishing how it acquired the property or came into possession of it.

The construction permission and tax-paid receipts on which it relied did not establish title.

In those circumstances, the Court upheld the Single Judge’s finding that the NOC could not be granted without proof of title and found no error requiring appellate interference.