| ORDER | BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, AMRITSAR. Consumer Complaint No. 415 of 2014 Date of Institution: 01.08.2014 Date of Decision: 01.04.2016 Mrs.Indu Aurora wife of Sh.M.S.Aurora resident of 17/6, Kennedy Avenue, Amritsar. Complainant Versus Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, Town Hall, Amritsar through its Commissioner. Opposite Party Complaint under section 12 and 13 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as amended upto date. Present: For the Complainant: Sh.Deepinder Singh, Advocate For the Opposite Party: Sh. U.K.Gaind, Advocate Quorum: Sh.Bhupinder Singh, President Ms.Kulwant Kaur Bajwa, Member Mr.Anoop Sharma, Member Order dictated by: Sh.Bhupinder Singh, President. - Present complaint has been filed by Smt.Indu Aurora under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act alleging therein that she has Water Supply and Sewerage Connection having account No.2146 and 2147 in the name of her brother-in-law and the complainant is using the said connection and paying all the bills raised by the Opposite Party from time to time and has paid the last bill dated 30.5.2014. The complainant has also paid all the previous bills, but the officials of the Opposite Party are now is threatening the complainant to disconnect his water connection for non payment of some other connection in the locality which the complainant has never utilized and not in the premises of the complainant’s occupation. The Opposite Party has not issued any notice for the said alleged demand to the complainant and the officials of the Opposite Party are visiting the premises of the complainant for the disconnection of Water Supply and Sewerage Connection. The aforesaid acts of the Opposite Party in threatening to disconnect the water supply connection of the complainant illegally is an act of deficiency in service, unfair trade practice and is not sustainable in the eyes of law. Alleging the same to be deficiency in service, complaint was filed seeking directions to the opposite party to restrain the Opposite Party from disconnecting the water supply connection of the complainant of No. 2146 and 2147. Compensation and litigation expenses were also demanded.
- On notice, Opposite Party appeared and filed written version in which it was submitted that the present complaint does not lie before this Forum as the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar is collecting water/ sewerage charges as tax as per provisions of Punjab Municipal Corporation Act and no complaint lies regarding payment of tax. In fact two Water Supply and Sewerage Connections bearing account No. 2146 and 2148 are installed in the building No.17/6, Kennedy Avenue, Amritsar. Another sewerage connection bearing Account No. 2147 is also installed in the said building. The connections bearing account Nos.2146 and 2147 are installed in the name of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh, whereas the connection bearing Account No. 2148 is installed in the name of Manmohan Singh son of Puran Singh and the complainant is wife of Manmohan Singh. The complainant is the wife of Manmohan Singh, but the complainant intentionally and with malafide intention has not mentioned this fact in the present complaint. An amount of Rs.29,059/- is outstanding as arrears in connection No.2148 upto 30.6.2014 which the complainant has not paid so far to the Opposite Party. The Opposite Party is at liberty to disconnect the connection for non payment of said arrears. The complainant is liable to make the payment of the said arrears. While denying and controverting other allegations, dismissal of complaint was prayed.
- Complainant tendered into evidence his affidavit Ex.C1 alongwith documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C9 and closed the evidence.
- Opposite Party tendered into evidence affidavit of Sh.Tilak Raj, XEN Ex.OP1 alongwith documents Ex.OP2 to Ex.OP9 and closed the evidence.
- We have carefully gone through the pleadings of the parties; arguments advanced by the ld.counsel for the parties and have appreciated the evidence produced on record by both the parties with the valuable assistance of the ld.counsel for both the parties.
- From the record i.e. pleadings of the parties and the evidence produced on record by the parties, it is clear that brother-in-law of the complainant namely Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh has Water Supply and Sewerage Connection bearing account No.2146 and 2147. Complainant alleges that she is the beneficiary of the said connection. Complainant submitted that she has been making the payment of all the bills of the aforesaid water connections, raised by the Opposite Party from time to time and has paid the last bill dated 30.5.2014, but the Opposite Party is threatening to disconnect the water supply connection of the complainant illegally for non payment of the some other Water Supply and Sewerage Connection in the locality which the complainant has never utilized. Opposite Party has also not issued any notice for the alleged demand to the complainant, but the officials of the Opposite Party are visiting the premises of the complainant for disconnection of the Water Supply connection bearing account Nos. 2146 and 2147. Ld.counsel for the complainant submitted that all this amounts to deficiency of service on the part of the opposite party.
- Whereas the case of the Opposite Party is that the Opposite Party has been collecting water/ sewerage charges as tax as per provisions of Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, so the complainant does not become consumer under the Consumer Protection Act. Opposite Party has further alleged that the complainant has not come to this Forum with clean hands and has concealed the true and material facts from the knowledge of this Forum. No explanation cause has accrued to the complainant to file the present complaint. In fact, three Water Supply and Sewerage Connections bearing account No. 2146, 2147 and 2148 are installed in building No.17/6, Kennedy Avenue, Amritsar. The connections bearing account Nos.2146 and 2147 are installed in the name of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh, whereas the connection bearing Account No. 2148 is installed in the name of Manmohan Singh son of Puran Singh. The complainant is the wife of Manmohan Singh, but the complainant intentionally and with malafide intention has not mentioned this fact in the present complaint. As per the record of the Opposite Party, an amount of Rs.29,059/- is outstanding as arrears against connection No.2148 upto 30.6.2014. This account is in the name of husband of the complainant and neither the complainant nor her husband Manmohan Singh son of Puran Singh has paid this amount to the Opposite Party. The complainant is neither the attorney of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh nor she has produced any document that these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections bearing No. 2146 and 2147 had fallen to the complainant in any partition or these connections have been transferred by Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh to the complainant nor the complainant has ever made any application to the Opposite Party that she is beneficiary of these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections nor the complainant has ever informed the Opposite Party that these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections which are in the name of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh have fallen or have been transferred to the complainant nor the complainant has ever applied for the transfer of these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections in her name from the name of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh. So, the complainant is not the consumer as defined in Consumer Protection Act, qua the Opposite Party. The complainant with malafide intention has not mentioned these facts in the present compliant that an amount of Rs.29,059/- is outstanding as arrears against water supply connection No. 2148 upto 30.6.2014 which is in the name of husband of the complainant namely Manmohan Singh son of Puran Singh. Opposite Party is at liberty to disconnection the connection bearing account No. 2148 for non payment of said arrears. But in order to avoid the payment of water supply connection bearing account No. 2148 which is in the name of husband of the complainant, the complainant has filed the present complaint just to divert the intention of the Opposite Party as well as this Forum from taking the legal action by the Opposite Party against the water supply connection bearing No. 2148 which is under default. Ld.counsel for the opposite party submitted that there is no deficiency of service on the part of the Opposite Party.
- From the entire above discussion, we have come to the conclusion that there are three Water Supply and Sewerage Connections bearing account No. 2146, 2147 and 2148 are installed in the same building i.e in building No.17/6, Kennedy Avenue, Amritsar. The connections bearing account Nos.2146 and 2147 are installed in the name of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh, who is not directly related to the complainant as the complainant is sister-in-law (bharjaae) of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh. Nowhere in the complaint, the complainant has submitted that these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections have fallen to the share of the complainant or her husband during any partition. Not only this, the complainant has nowhere in the complaint has mentioned that there was any family partition, as a result of which these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections bearing No. 2146 and 2147 have fallen to the share of the complainant nor the complainant has filed any affidavit of said Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh in this regard that he is not using these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections or that same have fallen to the share of the complainant. The complainant has never informed the Opposite Party that in any family partition or sale purchase process, these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections have fallen to the share of the complainant nor the complainant has informed the Opposite Party in this regard in writing or orally nor the complainant has ever applied to the Opposite Party for the transfer of these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections from the name of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh to the name of complainant nor the complainant has mentioned in the complaint that Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh is not residing in that building. The complainant has not produced even single iota of evidence to prove that she has been solely utilizing these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections and Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh is not utilizing these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections. As such, it can not be said that the complainant is beneficiary of these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections bearing account No. 2146 and 2147. So, the complainant can not be held consumer qua the Opposite Party against these Water Supply and Sewerage Connections, rather the complainant is guilty of concealment of facts. Opposite Party has produced on record that there is Water Supply and Sewerage Connection bearing account No. 2148 in the same building which is in the name of Manmohan Singh son of Puran Singh who is none-else, but the husband of the complainant and the complainant being wife of Manmohan Singh son of Puran Singh, has been using that Water Supply and Sewerage Connection and against this connection, a sum of Rs.29,059/- was outstanding as arrears upto 30.6.2014 and neither the complainant nor her husband Manmohan Singh son of Puran Singh had paid this outstanding amount of Rs.29,059/- against Water Supply and Sewerage Connection bearing account No. 2148 and the Opposite Party has legal right to disconnect this Water Supply and Sewerage Connection bearing account No. 2148 due to non payment arrears. Ld.counsel for the Opposite Party has further stated that the Opposite Party never threatened the complainant to disconnect the Water Supply and Sewerage Connections bearing account No. 2146 and 2147 which are in the name of Thakar Singh son of Puran Singh. All this shows that the present complaint is nothing, but misuse of the process of the Forum.
- Resultantly, we hold that the complaint is without merit and the same is hereby dismissed with no order as to cost. Copies of the order be furnished to the parties free of cost. File is ordered to be consigned to the record room. Case could not be disposed of within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of the cases in this Forum.
Dated: 01.04.2016 (Bhupinder Singh) President hrg (Anoop Sharma) (Kulwant Kaur Bajwa) Member Member | |
