KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday held that the Electricity Board was obliged to provide electricity connection within a month of receipt of the application and that electricity and water are part of the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution.

The court made the directions in response to the petition filed by KSEB Asst. Ex. Engineer KN Raveendranathan and Asst Engineer K Kiran assailing the fines imposed on them by the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum and the State Electricity Regulatory Commission for their delay in providing electricity to the house of Malappuram native P Sainuddeen.

Sainuddeen had applied for an electrical connection to his 300-square-foot home in May 2013. However, his application was rejected by the KSEB officials citing technical reasons. In the complaint filed with the Ombudsman, Asst. Ex. Engineer and Asst. Engineer were ordered to visit the site and prepare a sketch and provide the connection within 21 days of the completion of
the procedure. The commission ordered Raveendranathan to pay Rs 50,000 and Kiran Rs 25,000 for non-compliance. The two approached the High Court against this.