"Absolutely baseless," says Sambhal MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq on electricity theft filed against him

Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 8 (ANI): Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rehman Barq, on Sunday refuted allegations of electricity theft filed against him, calling the case "absolutely baseless" and politically motivated.
Speaking to ANI, Rehman Barq questioned the integrity of Uttar Pradesh electricity officials, claiming that his house has been without power for the past six months.
"I got some relief from the High Court. The Court said that the case was filed in the wrong manner... The electricity supply in my house has been cut off for the last 6 months. The electricity officers who have accused me of electricity theft, I want to ask them how honestly they are working? The case of electricity theft filed against me is absolutely baseless. The case has been filed under pressure, but we were hopeful that we would get justice in the courts," Rehman Barq said.
The Allahabad High Court stayed an order dated 15 May 2025, demanding payment of around Rs 2 crore of the electricity bill from SP MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq for his residence in Sambhal.
The Court directed Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) to restore electricity to Barq's residence, which was disconnected in December 2024.
A bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Sandeep Jain also stayed the final assessment order imposing on him electricity charges of Rs. 1.91 crores for a period of 4138 days upon the allegation of unauthorised use of electricity.
Meanwhile, in a separate legal development, the Allahabad High Court upheld a trial court's order to conduct a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district.
The petition filed by the Muslim side, seeking to halt the trial court proceedings, was rejected after the court found "no issues with the trial court order" in the ongoing dispute between the Jama Masjid and the Harihar Mandir in the district.
Reacting to the judgment, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said that the High Court has rejected all objections raised regarding the appointment of the Survey Commissioner by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Chandausi.
"This is a very important decision of the Allahabad High Court and all those who had spread the misconception in the country that the Survey Commissioner appointed by Civil Judge Senior Division Chandausi on 19th November was a wrong appointment and he should have heard the Masjid Committee before making the appointment, today that the court has completely rejected proposition of law," Jain told ANI.
Explaining the court's authority to appoint a Survey Commissioner, Jain said, "The simple proposition of law is that the court can appoint a Survey Commissioner in the exercise of the power of Order 26, Rule 9 and 10. There is no need to hear anyone at that time. The mandate of law is only that when the Survey Commissioner goes to the spot for a survey, he will conduct the survey in the presence of both parties. Which was followed here on both the days, i.e. 19th and 24th November."
Criticising certain parliamentarians and senior advocates who had raised questions on the survey, he added: "So the big barristers and parliamentarians who had made comments on the dignity of the court and the dignity of the parties on the dignity of this entire process, today a well-reasoned judgment has put a full stop to it."
Jain further said that the High Court's decision to vacate the stay on the trial means the legal proceedings will now continue. (ANI)