ORDER

                    In brief the complainant has agitated the following facts:-

                    That complainant has got an electric connection which is installed at his premises for Atta Chakki and the connection bears number CSP-67 and the Account Number of the said electric connection is G 43 SN31-0006.  As per complainant he is paying the bills of installed electric connection regularly.

                    According to the complainant he consumed 110 units as per bill dated August, 2005 and he paid the bills accordingly.  After this on 12.09.2005; a bill was received to the tune of Rs.12, 656/- showing the units consumed at

an average of 250 units.  The bill dated 12.09.2005 which was to the tune of Rs.12656/- was not deposited by the complainant and he requested the opposite party to get it corrected but all in vain.  That as per ledger submitted by the opposite party there is no dispute between the parties till August, 2005.  In September, 2005 average units of 250 have been shown to have been consumed and the dispute between the parties starts from the bill which has been raised in September, 2005.  The bill of September, 2005 of average unit of 250 was not deposited and request made to the opposite party for correction failed. 

                            To the utter surprise of the complainant, his connection was disconnected and at that time the units is shown to have been consumed as 30307 units in October, 2005.  The bill dated 10.10.2005 shows that (new reading 48357- old reading 18050) and the units to have been consumed as 30307 and a bill to this effect have been issued to the tune of Rs.1, 61,774/- which according to the complainant was illegal, null and void and was not binding upon the complainant but the opposite party did not paid any heed to the request of the complainant.  It is also mentioned in the complaint that electric connection has already been shown as disconnected by the opposite party.

                       The complainant visited from pillar to post to get his bill corrected but all in vain and hence this complaint.  In the present complaint, the complainant has prayed for direction to be issued to the opposite party to withdraw the alleged illegal bill dated 10.10.2005 and demand notice dated 25.01.2007 as they being illegal, null and void and not binding on the complainant and further he has prayed that opposite party may be burdened with costs and further the opposite party may be directed to pay compensation to the tune of Rs.50,000/- to the complainant for harassment, mental agony and deficiency in service.

                      On registration of the complaint, notice was issued to the opposite party, the opposite party appeared through his learned counsel and filed reply of the compliant in hand.  First of all in preliminary objections, the opposite party have raised objections regarding the fact that the complaint is not maintainable,

complainant have concealed the real facts, complainant has not come with clean hands and further there is no deficiency in service.  In parawise reply also the opposite party have denied the allegations levelled by the complainant.  In para No.2 of the reply the opposite party have pleaded that the complainant did not make any payment of the bill in question though the ledger submitted by the opposite party shows that there was no dispute up to August,2005 and the bills have been regularly paid by the complainant.  As per reply filed by the opposite party the PDCO was effected vide PDCO number 12/474 effected in 10/2005, the final reading of the removed meter was 48357.  As per para no.2, the bills were sent only up to units consumed as 18050 and at the time of PDCO the final reading of the meter is 48357 and the bill of Rs.1, 61,474/- issued including previous balance.  As per the reply of the opposite party the bills which were issued were as per actual reading shown by the removed meter.  No date for removing the meter has been shown in the reply.  Further the allegations levelled by the complainant are stated to be wrong and denied.  As per the opposite party the complainant is defaulter of the opposite party for Rs.1, 74,360/- upto August, 2006.  As per photocopy of the ledger which is attached with the reply as annexure R.1., Further all the allegations levelled by the complainant in the complaint are wrong and denied and in the end the opposite party have prayed that the bills issued from January, 2005 to August, 2006 as per rules of the opposite party and there is no deficiency in service and therefore the complaint of the complainant may be dismissed.

                    To substantiate the case of the complainant he has also filed an affidavit alongwith the complaint in which he has re-asserted all the facts which he has mentioned in the complaint.  Similarly to substantiate the case the opposite party have placed on record the ledger which is annexure R-1 and which are on file running in 24 pages from page No.25 to page No.48 which shows the bills submitted and paid by the complainant and also shows the bills/amount which the opposite party have to recover from the complainant.  The opposite party has also issued a letter dated 15.02.2008 for settlement of the dispute in question but no response was given by the complainant.                  

                    Keeping in view the facts on file and documents adduced by the parties and arguments raised by learned counsel for the complainant, it is crystal clear that there is no dispute in the electricity bill till August, 2005.  By that time the complainant has regularly paid his bill and the units in the bill issued in August, 2005 have been shown to have been consumed 110 and he has paid the amount to the tune of Rs.792/- as per bill issued by the opposite party and the reading at this juncture have been shown to be (old 17940 and new 18050).  The dispute started when a bill in the month of September, 2005 was issued to the tune of Rs.12656/- showing the units on average basis to have been consumed as 250.  The complainant made a request to get the bill corrected but all in vain.  The complainant was at his end to know that a bill in the month of October, 2005 was issued to the tune of Rs.1, 61,474/- and the units have been shown to have been consumed 30307 (new units 48357 –old units 18050).  Further the electricity connection was disconnected as per ledger submitted by the opposite party on page No.44 of the file on October, 2005 (shown as PDCO No.12/474).

                    It is hard to digest how to in what manner the electricity bill to the tune of Rs.1, 61,474/- was raised all of a sudden and the opposite party has failed to prove that how the electricity meter jumped from 18050 to 48357 only in two months.  There is no technical report of the Electricity Board/opposite party neither there is any verification of the electricity meter in electricity nor any report of tampering of seals/ meter dead.  Further the opposite party’s reply has not been supported by any affidavit.  Opposite party has filed ledger statement which are running in 24 pages from page No.25 to 48 which is written as annexure R-1 in the reply in which the bills which were issued by the opposite party have been shown and further the payment received by the opposite party is also shown. In addition to it ledger also shows that the electricity connection was disconnected in October, 2005 and the illegal demand of bill which was raised by the opposite party is also reflected in the ledger statement.  The complainant had not paid the illegal demand which has been raised in the month of September and October, 2005 respectively to the tune of Rs.12, 656/- and  Rs.1, 61,774/-.  Further the complainant has also not paid the bill raised through a notice dated 25.01.2007 as the bill according to the complainant was illegal and against all norms, rules and regulation of the Board/opposite party.

                     When the meter in question was disconnected in October, 2005 then it is surprisingly hard to digest how the bill accumulated to the tune of Rs.1, 61,774/- as per notice issued on 25.01.2007.  So the bill issued on September and October, 2005 by the opposite party is not binding on the complainant and the notice dated 25.01.2007 which is also illegal and the complainant is not bound to pay this amount.  The complainant as per facts on the file is bound to pay the average bill as shown in the ledger to have been consumed as 250 units in the month of September and October, 2005.

                     Resultantly, this Forum is of the view that complaint of the complainant is partly allowed as the opposite party has not provided him the sufficient and needy services as per the Consumer Act though the complainant wanted to deposit the correct bill but the bill was never corrected. As a result of the above mentioned facts, the bills for the months of September and October, 2005 are declared illegal, null and void alongwith demand notice dated 25.01.2007 which is also illegal, null and void.   The opposite party is further directed to raise a fresh bill as per units consumed by the complainant in the months of September and October, 2005 on an average basis of 250 units per month which will be deposited by the complainant within time frame of the bill.

                       The parties are left to bear their own costs.  Copy of this order be given to the parties free of costs.  File be consigned to record room after to do needful.