Complainant Karamjit Kaur had filed the instant complaint u/s 12 of Consumer Protection Act against the opposite parties and praying that the directions may be issued to the opposite parties to withdraw the notice dated 06.02.2018, bill dated 19.07.2018, send bill regularly per month and to pay Rs.50,000/- as damages and Rs.33,000/- as litigation expenses and they also be restrained from disconnecting her electricity connection till the decision of the complaint.
2. The case of the complainant in brief is that she is law abiding citizen of India and earns her livelihood from Atta Chaki business and is having electric connection bearing No.3002888291 and is regularly paying electricity charges to the opposite parties without any objection or the complaint. As such she is consumer of the opposite parties as per CPA. It was alleged by complainant that she was shocked and surprised when she received a false notice/memo No.1904 dated 06.02.2018 amounting to Rs.2,31,781/- and rushed to the office of opposite party No.2 to enquire into the reason as nothing was due from her previously as she was paying the bills regularly. Opposite party No.2 who itself was not clear about the bill admitted their fault but did not withdraw the said notice and asked her to deposit only Rs.65,000/- and they will look into the matter and assured her that this amount shall be adjusted in her future bill. So she bonafidely believed them and deposited the amount of Rs.65,000/- under the pressure of opposite party No.2 but thereafter no bill was sent to her by opposite party No.2 whereas it was requested to them to send the bill regularly per month so that she being a poor lady should pay the same. Opposite party No.2 also assured her to withdraw the notice dated 06.02.2018 referred above and adjust Rs.65,000/- in her future bill but nothing gave in writing. It was also pleaded that after gap of long period a bill dated 19.07.2018 amounting to Rs.63,840/- was again sent to the complainant without any basis and as such both notice dated 06.02.2018 and bill dated 19.07.2018 are illegal, null & void and are liable to be cancelled. It was next pleaded that complainant approached the opposite party No.2 many times with a request to withdraw the above said notice and bill but they remained putting off the matter on one pretext or the other and ultimately refused which is clear cut deficiency in service on their part and this act of the opposite parties is uncalled for, unconstitutional, unlawful, hence this complaint.
3. Opposite parties appeared through their counsel and filed their written reply by taking the preliminary objections that complainant has filed the false and frivolous suit/complaint with the intention to harass the opposite parties; that complainant had not approached the Hon'ble Court/Commission with cleans hands and concealed the material facts intentionally and deliberately; that the complaint of the complainant is not maintainable in the present form; that complainant has no cause of action to file the present suit/complaint in the present form; that complaint of the complainant is bad for non-joinder and mis-joinder of necessary parties and that this Ld. Court/Commission has no jurisdiction to decide the present complaint as the complainant is not fall under the definition of consumer. On merits, it was stated that memo No.1904 dated 06.02.2018 sent by the opposite parties by demanding Rs.2,31,781/- on the basis of charges of the excess load and their demand is legal and genuine and there is no deficiency in service on their part and whole allegations leveled in this complaint are totally vague, false and concocted one. It was further stated that the meter of the consumer/complainant from January, 2016 to November, 2016 was found defective so opposite party sent the bill on average basis, but revised bills pertaining to the period of 18.11.2015 to 13.11.2016 which were of 'D' Code had wrongly been reversed by the opposite parties. It was also stated that the meter of the complainant was changed on 19.09.2016 and due to the defective meter, the bills for period of 18.11.2015 to 19.11.2016 had been charged on the basis of preceding months of the last year and as such amount demanded by the opposite parties vide memo No.1904 dated 6.02.2018 and bill dated 19.07.2018 are legal and genuine. All other averments made in complaint have been denied and lastly prayed for dismissal of the complaint with costs.
4. In order to prove the case counsel for the complainant had filed affidavit of complainant Ex.CW-1/A with copies of documents Ex.C1 to Ex.C3.
5. On the other hand counsel for the opposite parties had tendered into evidence affidavit of Er.Manjit Singh S.D.O. alongwith copies of documents Ex.OP-1 to Ex.OP-5.
6. Rejoinder filed by the complainant.
7. Written arguments filed by both the parties.
8. We have carefully examined all the documents/evidence produced on record for its contained statutory merit and have also judiciously considered and perused the arguments duly put forth by the learned counsels for the parties.
9. As detailed above the present complaint has been filed by the complainant to challenge the electricity bill dated 19.07.2018 amounting to Rs.63,840/- as Ex.C1 and notice/memo No.1904 dated 06.02.2018 as Ex.C2 amounting to Rs.2,31,781/- issued by opposite party No.2. Complainant stated that she is running a Atta Chaki for earning her livelihood through the electricity connection bearing No.3002888292. As per Ex.C1 the said connection is under industrial category having load of 31.066 KW. Although, it is an industrial connection but as it is being used for earning livelihood by the complainant, so as per CPA,-2019 7 (ii) (a) the present complaint is taken up before this Commission for adjudication.
10. The complainant has alleged that the notice issued by opposite party No.2 to deposit Rs.2,31,781/- vide memo No.1904 dated 06.02.2018 and electricity bill dated 19.07.2018 amounting to Rs.63,840/- are illegal, null & void as she was regularly paying all the electricity bills issued from time to time. It was also pleaded that she had deposited Rs.65,000/- on the instructions of opposite party No.2 with the assurance to set right the notice issued but opposite party No.2 failed to redress her grievance.
11. Opposite parties in their written statement and arguments denied all the allegations and said that the meter of the said connection gone defective from 18.11.2015 to 13.11.2016 and average bills of 'D' Code were wrongly reversed and these bills have been recharged vide said notice No.1904 and claimed that these are totally legal and genuine. As far as, electricity bill dated 19.07.2018 is concerned, it has also been claimed to be legal and genuine. Opposite parties placed on record a copy of notice as Ex.OP-2 and copy of reversed bill dated 06.12.2016 as Ex.OP-3 and payment details alongwith consumption details as Ex.OP-5.
12. From the detailed facts and figures of the case given above, we see that opposite parties have not submitted the calculation sheet for charging of Rs.2,31,781/- vide notice No.1904 dated 06.02.2018 and also relevant regulation of the department has not been put on record. Besides this, no proof of defective meter was placed on record whereas the complainant claimed that her meter has not gone defective at any time.
13. So, in the present circumstances it was not clear whether the bills deposited by the complainant during the so called period of defective meter i.e. 18.11.2015 to 13.11.2016 were adjusted or not as the complainant has also deposited Rs.65,000/- with opposite party No.2. So, charging of the amount vide said notice for the period of 18.11.2015 to 13.11.2016 required to be revised, moreover it is the duty of the opposite parties to apprise and satisfy the consumer/complainant regarding charging of any such amount other than regular bill but the opposite parties seems to be failed in this matter.
14. As far as, the electricity bill dated 19.07.2018 amounting to Rs.63,840/- is concerned, it is clear from copy of this bill at Ex.C1 that it has been issued by opposite parties for the period of three months from 03/2018 to 06/2018 with the consumption of 7082 units. As the average monthly consumption in this bill is matching with the consumption history given at the bottom of this bill, so this electricity bill seems to be justified as per actual units consumed.
15. In view of the aforesaid discussion and facts of the case we partly allow the present complaint and notice issued vide memo No.1904 dated 06.02.2018 is hereby set aside. However, opposite party No.2 i.e. S.D.O. Model Town, Sub Division, Batala is at liberty to overhaul the said account of the complainant for the period, the meter remained defective from 18.11.2015 to 18.11.2016 as per guideline laid down under regulation No.21.5.2 of Electricity Supply Code, 2014 by adjusting of the payment already made by the complainant during that period and to supply all the relevant information/document to the complainant. Further, opposite party No.2 (S.D.O. Model Town, Sub Division, Batala) is also ordered to pay Rs.5,000/- in lump sum as compensation for harassment and litigation expenses to the complainant within 30 days from the receipt of copy of this order.
16. The complaint could not be decided within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of Court Cases, vacancies in the office and due to pandemic of Covid-19.
17. Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned.
(Lalit Mohan Dogra)
President
Announced: (B.S.Matharu)
July 27,2023 Member
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