In DHA Lahore Cantt, the WAPDA officials are reporting meter tampering allegedly done by residents to slow down their meters. Notices are being sent to residents for dishonest practices. The fact of the matter is that the electricity meters are fixed on WAPDA streetlight poles outside the premises of houses upon which the residents have no control whatsoever. These meters being accessible to all including WAPDA lower staff, they can be tampered with to blackmail the residents for getting illegal gratification by threatening them with high fines. The Electricity Act of 1910 is often quoted to levy an accusation of theft on the residents but this Act provides liability of consumers only in case of meters installed on their premises and not outside their premises. The consumers, who are mostly senior citizens, are not conversant with the lacuna in the law. This is exploited by the minions of WAPDA who operate in mafia style. They violate the dignity of residents by accusing them of dishonesty which is a violation of Article 14(1) of the Constitution. It is high time that the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo moto notice (under Article 84 (3) of the Constitution) of the gross violation of citizens' dignity by a gang of criminal-minded staff of WAPDA. -DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI, Lahore, via e-mail, May 21.