JUDGMENT
R.S. Mongia, J.
1. Petitioner Sanatan Dharm Sabha (Registered) Ambala Cantt., is a Society registered under the Registration of Societies Act, 1860. According to the averments, the Society is a religious and charitable institution, and its main aim and object is to propogate the Sanatan Dharm by all legitimate means To achieve this aim and object of the Society, it has established 4 High Schools for Boys and Girls, a Public School a Blind Institute and an Industrial School for Women where embroidery, knitting and tailoring are taught. It has also established a Natural Cure Hospital with Phsiotherahy Department and an Eye. Hospital two Dharmshalas. and a Temple (Mandir) at Ambala Cantt. The said Institutions have been granted electricity connections by Respondent-Haryana State Electricity Board (hereinafter called the Board).
2. The grievance of the petitioner is that the-Respondent-Board is charging electricity charges for the above said Institutions on the commercial rates by treating the Institutions as commercial Establishments inspite of the fact that none of the Establishments of the petitioner is carrying any commercial activities and are rather purety religious, educational and charitable Institutions. According to the petitioner, the Respondent should levy charges, for domestic supply from all the Institutions of the petitioner. The Schedule of tariff issued by the Respondent-Board lays down as to which category of institutions, the rates domestic supply would be applicable and to which rates of non-domestic supply would be applicable The same reads as under :-
DOMESTIC SUPPLY
(i) Availability : Available to single private house flat or hostel of educational institutions (including mess/canteen) working women’s hostel run by State Govt. Red Cross Society/Welfare Societies, Anganwadi, worker’s training Centres for lights fans domestic pumping sets and household appliances, Private dwelling in which space is occasianally used for the conduct of business by a person residing therein shall also be covered under tins tariff where a portion of the dwelling is used regularly for the conduct of a business, the consumption in that portion will be separately metered and billed under the appropriate Non-Domestic or Industrial power, tariff. If separate circuits are not provided the entire supply will be classified under “Non-Domestic Supply?
Release and sub-metering to tenants other flats or house-holds and other parties is strictly prohibited except with the permission of supplier in which case the blocks of tariff shall not be compounder. A hostel shall be considered as one unit and billed with out compounding. The supply for residential quarters/flats attached to the educational institutions for staff members shall not be compounded.”
NON-DOMESTIC SUPPLY
(i) Availability : Availability for lights, fans, appliances and small motors to all non-residential premises such as business houses cinemas, clubs, public offices, schools, hospitals hotels etc (except Village Chaupals. Re-sale and sub metering to tenants adjoining houses and to other parties is strictly prohibited except with the permission of supplier, in which cases, blocks of tariff shall not be compounded?
3. Learned Counsel for the petitioner argued that in the institutions ran by the petitioner-Society, no trade or commerce is carried out and all these Institutions are religious and providing educational and other services to humanity without any distinction of caste or creed. There is no profit motive of the Society. The whole expenditure is borne out of the donations received by the Society. To support his contention, learned counsel cited a judgment of the Kerla High Court reported as Social S. G. of Assist Sisters v. K.S.E.B. 1988 (1) K. L. T 727. that as far as Temple is concerned it cannot be said that it is a commercial consumer as the activities which go on in a temple cannot in any way be said to be commercial.
4. On the other hand, learned counsel for the Respondent-Board did not seriously object to the Dharmshala being treated as residential building and therefore liable to domestic supply charges, but argued that as far as schools, hospitals and temple are concerned, these could not be said to be residential and therefore are to be charged non-demostic supply charges. The dominant purpose in such Institutions is not residence.
5. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, I am of the view that it is the dominant purpose of the user of the building that determines whether domestic supply charges are to be levied or non-demostic supply charges. It will be seen from the schedule of tariff reproduced above that in case the premises are used for residential purposes, the charges are are of demestic supply and if it is being used for non residential purposes, the charges are of non-domestic supply, Dharmshala is obviously for the purpose of the residence and is used for making people stay in the same though even nominal charges may be charged. In such a situation, it cannot be levied non-domestic supply charges. Consequently I hold that as far as Dharmshala is concerned, the same is leviable to domestic supply charges. As far as schools hospitals are concerned, certainly no residential activities go on there and consequently they are liable to pay non-domestic supply charges.
6. As far as temple is concerned, the judgment of the Kerla High Court does support the petitioner. Kerla High Court observed as under :-
“Churches/Temples/Mosques are places set apart for public workship according to established religious practices. People may gather for prayers meditation, worship or religious rituals. These sacred precincts are said to be ‘nurseries of man’s moral life’ and have a totally different orientation distinct from a commercial organisation. They have no eye on competitive efficiency and no heart for material advancement. These holy adodes cannot be treated as places of economic activity and classified as commercial consumers.”
7. With respect to the learned Judge of the Kerla High Court, I am unable to agree with the same. The categories as made in the tariff are two and as observed that if the activities are residential then the domestic supply charges are to be levied and for all other activities non-domestic supply charges are to be levied Consequently the question to be answered is whether a temple can be said to be dominantly used for residential purposes. The answer would be in the negative. That being so the temple would also be charged tariff on non-domestic supply.
8. For the fore going reasons, this writ petition is partially allowed to the extent that the Board is entitled to charge only domestic supply charges on the Dharmshala established by the petitioner and as far as other Institutions are concerned, the Board is rightly charging non-domestic supply charges. There will be no order as to costs.