DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM: BHADRAK
Dated the 11thday of June, 2020
C.D Case No. 17 of 2017
Present 1. Shri Raghunath Kar, President
2. Shri Basanta Kumar Mallick, Member
3. Afsara Begum, Member
Sri Ratnakar Behera
S/o Late Fakir Behera
Vill: Erein (Khesatuba),
Po: Charampa,
Ps: Bhadrak (R),
Dist: Bhadrak, Odisha
……………………. Complainant
(Versus)
1. Executive Engineer, NESCO Utility
At/Po: By-pass,
Ps: Bhadrak (T),
Dist: Bhadrak, Odisha
2. Junior Engineer, NESCO Utility,
Division No. 3, Bhadrak (T)
Dist: Bhadrak
……………………..Opp. Parties
Counsel For Complainant: Sri D. P Ray Mohapatra, Adv & Others
Counsel For the O.Ps: Smt. G. Pradhan, Dy Manager (Legal) NESCO
Date of hearing: 18.12.2019
Date of order: 11.06.2020
RAGHUNATH KAR, PRESIDENT
This dispute arises out of the complaint filed by the complainant alleging deficiency of service and unfair trade practice against the O.Ps.
The facts of the complaint are to the effect that the complainant’s father was a bonafide consumer and BPL card holder under Section No. 3, Khasatupa Sub-Station, NESCO Utility, Bhadrak and Dist- Bhadrak. Late Fakir Charan Behera of Vill: Erein (Khesatuba), Po: Charampa, Ps: Bhadrak (R) and Dist: Bhadrak applied for a domestic consumer ship to the electric department and deposited Rs 360/- on 28.03.1998 in the department. The concerned authority of the said department connected the power supply after one month. The father of the complainant had been paying the electricity bills and obtaining the receipts with minimum charge. He requested the Dept. to provide him a consumer number and as well as for installation of a meter. The Dept. assured him to install the same again and again but did not supply him a meter. The father of the complainant reqested the concerned J.E who directed him to apply before the in-charge authority. The said authority mentioned a number as test report such as T.R No. 70259 but failed to provide the consumer number.
The father of the complainant used to pay the bill in the Dept. and obtained money receipts without any consumer number. On 13.12.2002 the Dept. provided a consumer number vide No. BZ-41969. The father of the complainant paid Rs 200/- under vide consumer No. BZ-41969 on Dt. 13.12.2002. In this way the father of the complainant had been paying the bills till the year 2005. The Dept. authority prepared a bill of huge amount and served the same upon the father of the complainant mentioning a fake consumer number vide No. BZ-3267. The said bill was prepared in the name of Fakir Charan Behera of Vill- Parasinga. The complainant’s father protested the said bill and raised complaint before the concerned authority but the authority tried to convince the father of the complainant that the bill was prepared in a wrong consumer number but at last authority advised him to pay the amount according to the bill. Actually there was a another person namely Fakir Charan Behera belonging to Parasinga was a consumer vide consumer No. BZ-3267 but the father of the complainant was belonging to Vill- Erein having no arrears and he was a regular payee of the electricity bills. When the father of the complainant did not pay the huge amount with regard to the fake bill as a result of which his power connection was supposed to be disconnected. The said consumer who was the father of the complainant went to the concerned authority again and again for correction of the said bill but no fruit was born. The Departmental authority had given much more false assurances to the father of the complainant. The father of the complainant died in the year 2015 but since them the O.Ps have been threatening the complainant to pay Rs 48,537/-. In view of the consumer No. BZ-3267 otherwise the power supply would be disconnected at any time. Hence the complainant has sought for the following reliefs against the O.Ps for their negligence, deficiency of service and dishonest trade practice.
1. The complainant be exempted from the false arrear bills.
2. The O.Ps be directed not to disconnect the power supply.
The following documents filed by the complainant.
1. Voter-Id-Card Ratnakar Behera.
2. Aadhar card of Late Fakir Behera.
3. Receipt of deposit money receipt Rs 360/- & estimate for domestic electricity connection.
4. Receipt of J.E NESCO Golok Samal vide TR No. 70259 on 27.03.1998.
5. Copy of BPL card vide BPL No. 325/97.
6. Copy filed of old consumer No. BZ-41969.
7. Copy filed new consumer No. BZ-3267.
8. Copy filed of electric bills Rs 47,982/-.
9. Copy filed deposit money receipts.
10. Rs 100/- IPO Vide No. 47H 433586.
On the contrary the O.Ps have filed in their written version analogously denying all the allegations made by the complainant against them. They have also averred that the complaint is barred by limitation and Section- 24 (A) of CP Act. They have also averred that the complaint is not maintainable and lacking cause of action. They have further averred that the averments made by the complainant are all false and fabricated in his complaint. The O.Ps fact is that described in their written version admitting the following facts that the father of the complainant is an electricity consumer bearing consumer No. BZ-3267 (A/c No. 4214-1310-0979) under domestic category having CD 1 KW. The complainant is availing power supply uninterruptedly since initiation of power supply. According to the O.Ps since 2001 to 2016, the consumer has not paid a single pie only Rs 200/-. He is very much irregular in payment of electricity bill. To avoid payment of electricity, the complainant has filed this complaint with some false allegation. Neither the complainant nor his father have ever complained, which is now been raised after 16 years. As per Section 42(3) of the Electricity Act 2003, a special Forum has been established specially for electricity know as G.R.F. But the complainant without preferring the alternative remedy has filed this complaint, which is not maintainable.
The O.Ps have relied upon the following documents.
1. Xerox copy of the money receipt vide book No. AN4252 dt. 31.03.2018 receipt No. 850357.
The O.Ps have not filed any other documents on their behalf to support their averments made in the written version.
OBSERVATION
We have gone through the complaint, the documents filed by the complainant and the written version, document filed by the O.Ps. As per our observation the father of the complainant has become a consumer since 28.03.1998, he died in the year 2015. The complainant’s allegation is that after becoming a consumer and using the electricity power the father of the complainant has not been supplied the consumer number. He had been paying the bill amounts without having a consumer number till 2002. As per allegation of O.Ps the complainant has not paid the bill amount since 2002 to 2016 regularly but we have found that the complainant has paid the bill amount till 2005 but we have found a single money receipt filed by the O.Ps on 31.03.2018 the complainant has paid Rs 2,000/- only. According to the complainant the cause of action of this case arose since in the year 1998 during the life time of the father of the complainant. During this period neither the complainant nor his father have raised the negligence or the deficiency of service regarding the preparation and the supply of consumer number. Further the complainant has admitted that the O.Ps have already supplied a consumer number vide consumer No. BZ-3267 in the year 2002 which was prepared in the name of his father Fakir Charan Behera of Village Ereni. According to the written version filed by the O.Ps in between the year 2005 to 2018 neither the complainant nor his father has paid a single pie to the O.Ps Dept. where as they have been using the domestic power supply regularly. The complainant has committed a mistake that he has failed to mention the date of arising of cause of action. In absence of the date of cause of action the complaint is not maintainable. According to our observation the cause of action of the complaint has arisen since the year 1998. Since then neither the complainant nor his father has submitted a single grievance latter or representation before the O.Ps for the solution of his problems.
That we have presumed that as the complainant and his father have been dis-communicated from the O.Ps office as well as both father and son could not keep contact with the O.Ps and at a random they have using the power supply without payment of any bill amount, so there must be some arrears since 2005 to 2020. It is also primafacie fact that the complainant has become a defaulter from paying the electricity bills regularly. The complainant has also committed another mistake that he has neither communicated nor informed to the O.Ps regarding the death of his father. As such the bill of in the month of March, 2018 has been prepared in the name of Late Fakir Charan Behera. It is also illegal that the electricity bill should have not been prepared in the name of a dead man. The complainant should have made every effort to prepare the bill in his own name. We have found that as the cause of action arose in the year 1998, so it is barred by limitation. Further the father of the complainant who was the actual consumer is dead since 2015. We have also held that the complainant is a chronic defaulter of payment of the revenue of the O.Ps, although he and his dead father has been enjoying the domestic power supply so obviously the O.Ps have got some arrear amount upon the complainant. The complainant on any point of time has never tried to become the consumer in place of the dead father. As Late Fakir Behera his dead since 2015 and the complainant himself is not a consumer under the O.Ps, he has no locus-standi to file in this complaint because he is not a consumer.
As per the above observation and findings we are not inclined to allow this complaint. Hence it is ordered;
ORDER
In the result, the complaint be and the same is dismissed against O.Ps without cost and compensation.
This order is pronounced in the open Forum on this day of 11th June, 2020 under my hand and seal of the Forum.
