Every Grocer Has A Scanner, Why Can't Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Provide QR Code For UPI Payment At Counter? Karnataka HC Enquires

A single judge bench of Justice N S Sanjay Gowda said “It is rather strange that in this age and time, BESCOM is refusing to accept money through UPI when the whole world is accepting payments through UPI.”

The direction was given while hearing a petition filed by a senior citizen Seethalakshmi who had approached the court seeking a direction to BESCOM to provide the Prepayment Meter as per section 47 (5) of the Electricity Act, 2003 and accept the payment in the UPI mode as provided for in the KERC Regulations.

During the hearing, the counsel for BESCOM submitted that there is no option for making UPI payments at the counters of BESCOM only cash payment is accepted. However, consumers can make online/UPI payments via the BESCOM app. It was said, “Senior Citizens and aged people can sit at home and do it on the app they are not required to come to the counter.”

To this, the court orally said, “If somebody wants to pay you money and if this is the accepted mode now, for you to adopt now you require a person to come to court by filing a writ petition.”

It added, “Somebody wants to give you the money, the government is screaming from the rooftop that you should go digital and you want to go back to collect currency notes.”

Further, the court said “Every grocer is now having a scanner before him and you cannot give him (petitioner) a QR code to make the payment. Court was the slowest in adopting technology and you are even worse than us."

On October 16 2023, the petitioner requested for a load enhancement to meet the heavy load demand arising from rental purposes. On October 25, 2023, the petitioner received a communication from the BESCOM specifying the fees associated with the application.

The petitioner visited the Hosakote branch cash counter on October 26, 2023, to make the required payment in cash. The officials on duty advised the Petitioner to pay via DD since payment via UPI was not available.

Advocate Shridhar Prabhu appearing for the petitioner submitted she being an elderly woman, faces challenges in performing daily tasks, standing in line to obtain a Demand Draft (DD) and subsequently making the payment. Thus she has appealed to facilitate the process by providing their account scanner or Unified Payments Interface Identity (UPID) for her to make valid payments without such physical exertion.

Case Title: SEETHALAKSHMI AND Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited.

Case No: WP 17053/2024

Appearance: Advocate Shridhar Prabhu for Petitioner.