Haryana

StateCommission

A/881/2014

Sitar Singh - Complainant(s)

Versus

Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd - Opp.Party(s)

25 Feb 2016

ORDER

STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, HARYANA,PANCHKULA

                                                             

First Appeal No.881 of 2014

Date of Institution: 07.10.2014      Date of Decision:25.02.2016

 

Sitar Singh S/o Sh.Ganeshi Ram, R/o Village Sagarpur, Tehsil Narnaul, Distt.M/garh (Haryana).

     …..Appellant

                                                Versus

 

1. Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. through its Executive Engineer/ DGM, DHBVNL, Narnaul.
2. AGM Operation Sub Division, Dakshin arHarHaryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. Ateli Mandi, Tehsil Narnaul.

         …..Respondents

 

CORAM:     Mr. R.K.Bishnoi, Judicial Member.
                   Mrs.Urvashi Agnihotri, Member.

 

Present:-     Mr.Varun Gupta, Advocate for the appellant.

Mr.Amardeep Hooda, Advocate counsel for the  respondents.

 

                                      O R D E R

 

URVASHI AGNIHOTRI, MEMBER:

 

1. Sitar Singh, appellant is in appeal against the Order dated 03.09.2014 passed by the learned District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (for short ‘District Forum’), Narnaul, whereby his complaint against DHBVNL and Anr. has been dismissed.
2. In brief, complainant’s father Ganeshi Lal was having an electricity connection bearing account No.SA-51-505 for a long time from the opposite parties (O.Ps.) and after the death of Ganeshi Lal, the complainant being his legal heir has been using the said electricity connection and paying the bills regularly.  In June/July, 2010 due to heavy storm the electric poles supplying electricity to the tubewell  got broken down, due to which the supply of the electricity to the tubewell came to a dead stop.  The complainant had been repeatedly requesting the O.Ps. for effecting the necessary repairs and for erecting electric poles, but the O.Ps. failed to do the needful. In absence of electricity at his tubewell he could not irrigate his fields and he suffered a crop loss of Rs.2,00,000/-.  Despite that the O.Ps. continued issuing the bills since July, 2010 and ultimately bill No.3009, dated 07.10.2011 for Rs.8482/-.  Aggrieved against this, the complainant approached the District Forum for redressal of his grievance and for grant  of compensation of Rs.2,00,000/- for crop loss and damages of Rs.30,000/- for mental agony and harassment etc.
3. According to the O.Ps., the complainant had not got changed the aforesaid electricity connection in his name and as such he was not a consumer of the O.P.s. The complainant did not intimate the O.Ps. with regard to the breaking of the poles in June/July, 2010, rather he intentionally did not deposit the bills.  It was due to non payment of electricity bills by the complainant that PDCO was effected by the electricity department.  The learned District Forum agreeing with the stand taken by the O.Ps. and dismissed the complaint vide order dated 03.09.2014.
4. Against the impugned order dated 03.09.2014, the complainant has filed appeal before us reiterating his factual submission and the grievances raised before the District forum claiming huge compensation for loss of crops.
5. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have also gone through the record.  In nutshell, we find that the electricity connection of  the complainant  stands disconnected since 23.11.2011 and has not  been restored so far.  No doubt, the complainant has not produced any cogent evidence to prove the actual and exact crop loss suffered by him in the absence of electricity connection, yet it is a matter of common knowledge that his crops must have been damaged during the last more than four years without electricity and water.  Therefore, the case of the complainant is squarely covered under instruction No.2.3 issued by the O.Ps., according to which the complainant is entitled to the relief of restoration of the electricity connecting paying the uptodate bills.  Accordingly, we partly allow the appeal of the complainant by directing the O.Ps. to restore electricity connection of the complainant after he has deposited the uptodate amount of the bills issued to him so far.

 

February 25th, 2016

Mrs.Urvashi Agnihotri, Member, Addl.Bench

R.K.Bishnoi, Judicial Member Addl.Bench

S.K.