Complainant Gurmail Singh @ Gurmel Singh has filed the present complaint against the opposite parties U/S 12 of the Consumer Protection Act (for short, C.P.Act.) seeking necessary directions to the opposite parties to  withdraw the impugned demand of Rs.5432/- raised in bill dated 31.8.2014 and to set aside/quash the bill in question and also directed the opposite parties to issue bill after making proper consumption and also to withdraw their illegal threat to disconnect his electric connection. Opposite parties be also directed to pay Rs.10,000/- for physical harassment and mental agony and litigation expenses, in the interest of justice.

2.       The case of the complainant in brief is that he has got installed an electric domestic connection bearing Account No.G 74 BF 591212 Y and is continuously paying the electricity bills. Earlier the opposite parties issued a bill dated 13.7.2014 to him for Rs.872/- but due to unavoidable circumstances, he could not pay the said bill to the opposite parties. Again the opposite parties have issued a bill dated 31.8.2014 to him for Rs.8510/-, in which the opposite parties have illegally slapped the amount of Rs.5432/-. Infact the said bill is totally illegal, null and void is not binding upon him. He approached the opposite party no.3 and requested them to withdraw the impugned demand raised in the impugned bill, but the opposite party no.3 refused to admit his claim. Thus, there is deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. Hence this complaint.

3.       Notice of the complaint was issued to the opposite parties who appeared through their counsel and filed their written reply by taking the preliminary objections that the complaint is not maintainable in the present Forum;  the complainant has got no locus standi to file the present complaint and the complainant has filed a false, frivolous and vexatious complaint by concealing the true facts from this Hon’ble Forum and as such the complainant is liable to be burdened with special costs and this Hon’ble Forum has got no jurisdiction to entertain and try the present complaint. On merits, it was submitted that the  audit party conducted the audit of the account of complainant vide half margin 2 dated 21.3.2014 and the amount in dispute has rightly been added in the bill dated 31.8.2014 and the same is recoverable from the complainant and bill of complainant relating to 9/13 to 3/14 was checked and it was found that only amount of Rs.2885/- of 559 units was charged whereas the complainant has consumed 1260 worth Rs.7326/-, hence amount of Rs.4442/- i.e. difference of units was added in this bill. All other averments made in the complaint have been vehemently denied and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

4.     Counsel for the complainant tendered into evidence affidavit of complainant Ex.C1, alongwith other documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C4 and closed the evidence.  

5.       Counsel for the opposite parties tendered into evidence affidavit of Ram Gopal S.D.O. PSPCL Ex.OP-1, alongwith other documents Ex.OP2 & Ex.OP3 and closed the evidence.

6.       We have carefully gone through the pleadings of both the parties; arguments advanced by their respective counsels and have also appreciated the evidence produced on record with the valuable assistance of the learned counsels for the purposes of adjudication of the present complaint.

7.       From the pleadings and evidence brought on record, it is clear that the complainant is the holder of electricity connection bearing Account No.G 74 BF 591212 Y and as such is a consumer of the opposite party. The complainant has challenged the bill dated 31.8.2014 for Rs.8510/- in which the opposite party has illegally slapped the amount of Rs.5432/-. As per the version of the complainant  there is nothing outstanding against him except Rs.872/- of the previous bill. He has further submitted that at no point of time he has ever consumed such high and excessive energy.

8.       On the other hand, the counsel for the opposite party has argued that the amount in dispute has been added in the bill dated 31.8.2014 on the basis of some audit report vide half margin dated 21.3.2014. We find that no notice was ever issued to the complainant by the audit party at the time of conducting the audit. Even no affidavit of any official of the audit party has been filed by the opposite party, which could prove their demand to be genuine one. We find that even the bill period is not correctly mentioned in the written statement as from 9/13 to 3/14 when in fact their own document Ex.OP2 says the period is from 4/13 to 9/13. The document Ex.OP3 is also a non-speaking document as there is no mention of the account number of the complainant/consumer and hence cannot be taken into consideration.

9.       So keeping in view the above discussion, we find that opposite party is deficient in providing service and hence we set aside the impugned demand of Rs.5432/- raised in the bill dated 31.8.2014 and further direct the opposite party to refund the amount deposited if any, by the complainant during the pendency besides payment of Rs.2000/- as compensation and Rs.1000/- as litigation expenses to the complainant within 30 days from the receipt of copy of order.

10.     Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. File is ordered to be consigned to the record room.             

                                                                   (Naveen Puri)

                                                                        President

ANNOUNCED:                                        (Jagdeep Kaur)

March 10 2015.                                                    Member                         

*MK*