We are tenants living in a rented house in a district of Odisha. The owner resides outside the state. Recently, a team from TPCODL came for an inspection and found a parallel wire connected from the meter (not a bypass). They immediately accused us of power theft and started recording the entire house, noting down all electrical appliances (2 ACs, 1 geyser, etc.), estimating a load of around 6000W.

Only my father was present during this(I stay Bangalore) and he was confused and scared by the sudden confrontation. The team handed over a document referencing Section 135 of the Electricity Act (power theft), but no fine amount was mentioned at that time. Refer to image.

A few points for clarity:

We have never tampered with the meter or wiring. I swear this with full confidence and sincerity.

The current meter was newly installed on 24/09/2024. If any parallel wire existed, it should have been addressed/cut by TPCODL staff during installation. Why are we being held accountable now?

When we questioned them, they claimed their installation staff are contractors, and they don’t know much about the earlier work.

I’m wondering:

1. Shouldn’t we be given a warning or notice to fix the issue instead of being directly fined? Or was it intentional to scam money out of us not cutting during meter installation.

2. Or any guest/neighbour might have observed this, made complaint in office?

3. After inspection, the parallel wire is still in place and hasn’t been removed by them. Should I raise a complaint now or wait until this matter is resolved?

Timeline so far:

Day 2: My father visited their office and was verbally told the fine could be around ₹56,000, but no formal bill was given.

Day 4: Another visit — a staff member said the fine could be reduced or cancelled by the SDO. He also said we must pay 50% before approaching the Consumer Court.

We are meeting the SDO tomorrow. What should we do or avoid during this meeting? What are our legal rights as tenants in such cases?

Any guidance would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance!