Complainant Dasso through the present complaint filed U/s 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter called an Act) has prayed for issuance of the necessary directions to the titled opposite parties being the different authorities/offices of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited at Patiala, Gurdaspur and Kahnuwan to restore her electric tubewell connection immediately through issuance of SCO/JCO (if not issued earlier) besides to pay her Rs.50,000/- as compensation for causing mental agony, physical torture and financial loss alongwith Rs.5,000/- as litigation expenses, all in   the interest of justice.   

2.       The case of the complainant in brief is that she had applied for an electrictubewell connection in her name and that was duly sanctioned and installed at her agriculture land in the year 2014 that however was disconnected on 16.7.2014 without assigning any cogent reasons for the same. Since then she has been contacting the different offices of the opposite parties to get her connection restored but of no avail. She has further alleged that the opposite parties's S.D.O. had some quarrel with her son and on account of the same her power connection was disconnected without assigning any reasons for the same. Finding her efforts bearing no fruit she has preferred the present complaint with the desired relief as stated herein above.

3.       Upon notice, the opposite parties appeared through their counsel and filed the joint written reply stating therein that the complainant's son had started running his tubewell by stealing electricity through the complainant's electric motor and other equipment etc. and as such the sanctioned power connection could not be released and instead F.I.R. had to be lodged against the complainant's son. Under the circumstances, it was not possible to allow the reconnection to the complainant and thus the present complaint has been prayed to be dismissed with costs.

4.       Counsel for the complainant tendered into evidence affidavit of complainant Ex.C1 alongwith other documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C7 and closed the evidence.

5.       Counsel for the opposite parties tendered into evidence affidavit of Ram Gopal A.A.E. Ex.OP1/A alongwith other documents Ex.OP-1 to Ex.OP-12 and closed the evidence.      

6.       Both the parties have produced/filed their respective affidavits and other related documents in evidence to support their pleadings/objections on record and the learned counsels for the litigants have duly put forth their respective arguments.

7.     We find that the senior-citizen woman-complainant was duly allotted the Tube-well Power connection that however stays non-admitted (on technical grounds) though not non-purposely (by the OP service providers) but for the collateral reasons which however the allotted connection # 22381/1028 as apparent & duly exhibited vides Ex.C4 (same as the OP produced Ex.OP3) proves otherwise. The complainant has neither been named as ‘co-accused’ nor an ‘accomplice’ in the related FIR # 307 of 14.07.2014 (Ex.OP-12) thus the alleged ‘disconnection’ and/ or subsequent ‘non-release/reconnection’ of the same fairly indicates presence of some collateral issues but surely amounts to an ‘infringement of her valued consumer rights’ under the Act. Since the criminal complaint on the subject-matter is subjudice/ continuing before the honorable competent court, we purposely withhold our direct findings on prima-facie evidence and others etc lest the same may not adversely affect one litigant’s interests, there. However, we hold the OP’s as guilty of having infringed the complainant’s consumer rights and thus are liable to an adverse award under the adjudicatory Act. 

8.       In the light of the all above, we partly allow the present complaint and thus ORDER the opposite parties to restore/connect to power the presently defunct Tube-well Connection to the deprived complainant besides to pay her Rs.10,000/- as compensation (for having caused her un-necessary harassment, inconvenience and delay) and Rs.5,000/- as cost of litigation within 30 days of the receipt of the copy of these orders otherwise the aggregate awarded amount shall attract interest @ 9% PA from the date of orders in the present complaint till actually paid.

9.       Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned to records.

                                    (Naveen Puri)                                                                                 President

ANNOUNCED:                   (G.B.S.Bhullar)           (Jagdeep Kaur)

January 29, 2015.                          Member.                    Member.           

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