Complainant Smt.Monika 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 exclude Rs.1223/- added as arrears of current year and Rs.97,056/-, Rs.17,752/- and Rs.1581/- added as arrears of previous year and Rs.960/- as adjustment from the bill in dispute and to recover the actual consumption amount from him after rectification of the bill. Opposite parties be further directed to restrained from disconnecting his electric connection during the pendency of the complaint alongwith Rs.10,000/- as compensation for mental agony, physical torture and financial loss caused by the opposite parties to him.
2. The case of the complainant in brief is that she has installed an electric connection in her house for domestic purpose bearing Consumer No.G 43 CF 23 Account No.3001902752. She is using the electricity, paying the consumption bills regularly to the opposite parties and nothing is outstanding against her and as such she is consumer of the opposite parties and her sanctioned and existing load is 4 KW. To her utter surprise, the opposite party issued a bill dated 29.1.2017 for Rs.1,44,436/- in which the opposite parties had added Rs.65,449/- as arrears of current financial year, Rs.45,087/- as arrears of previous year and Rs.960/- as adjustment without mentioning any reason thereto, that on what account this huge amount has been slapped on her. On receipt of the illegal bill, she approached the opposite party no.3 and requested him to exclude the amount of arrears from the bill and to receive the actual consumption but of no use. The opposite parties in order to recover the bill amount and to pressurize her even disconnected her electricity connection on 20.2.2017 without any prior notice to her and she as well as her entire family are facing great difficulties due to this illegal act of the opposite parties. She has further pleaded that she approached this Hon'ble Forum vide complaint dated 21.2.2017 alongwith restoration application and vide order dated 21.2.2017 she deposited 1/4th of the disputed amount with the opposite parties and accordingly her connection was restored. However, during the pendency of the complaint, she mistook the date of hearing and her counsel remained busy in civil courts and as such the complaint was dismissed in default vide order dated 26.05.2017. The opposite parties had issued another bill dated 24.5.2017 in which consumption is shown as 1776 units. In this bill Rs.1223/- has been added as arrears of current year and Rs.97,056/-, Rs.17,752/- and Rs.1581/- as arrears of previous year and Rs.960/- as adjustment. On receipt of this bills, she approached the opposite party no.3 and requested him to exclude the amount of arrears from the bill and to receive the actual consumption amount after rectification of the bill, but the opposite party no.3 flatly refused to take any action into the matter. Neither she used electricity to this extent, nor she came into arrears. No notice before including such like huge amount in the bill was served by the opposite parties to her. Thus the demand of the opposite parties is without any checking and notice is illegal, against the rules, cryptic, arbitrary, without any basis. 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 submitting therein that the complainant is a chronic defaulter since June, 2015. The bill issued to the complainant is according to the consumption of the meter of the complainant, the bill dated 29.1.2017 issued to the complainant is correct one after recording his reading on 29.01.2017 and the same was found as 21106 units and the last reading was 19860 and as such the complainant has consumed 1246 units in 70 days. The opposite party has rightly issued bill as per the actual consumption of the complainant. The current consumption charges for 1246 units consumed is Rs.9,007/- and the arrears of the bill for the year 2015 is Rs.56,747/- and the arrears of bill for the year 2016 is Rs.79,122/- and Rs.485/- has been charged as a difference of infrastructures development charge in sundry column and as such the total bill comes Rs.1,45,361/-. So, there is no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. All other averments made in the complaint have been vehemently denied and lastly prayed that the complaint may be dismissed with costs.
4. Complainant tendered into evidence her own affidavit Ex.C-1, alongwith other documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C7 and closed the evidence.
5. Counsel for the opposite parties tendered into evidence affidavit of Sh.Dilbagh Singh S.D.O. PSPCL OP1/A, alongwith other documents Ex.OP1 to Ex.OP-10 and closed the evidence.
6. We have thoroughly examined the available documents/evidence as produced on the records (of the present proceedings) so as to interpret the meaning and purpose of each document and also the scope of adverse inference (if any) on account of some of the documents ignored to be produced by the contesting litigants against the back-drop of the arguments as put forth by the learned counsels of the litigating contestants. The ld.counsel for the complainant has argued that the opposite party issued a bill dated 29.1.2017 for R.1,44,436/- in which the opposite parties had added Rs.65,449/- as arrears of current financial year, Rs.45,087/- as arrears of previous year and Rs.960/- as adjustment without mentioning any reason. The opposite parties had issued another bill dated 24.5.2017 in which consumption is shown as 1776 units. In this bill Rs.1223/- has been added as arrears of current year and Rs.97,056/-, Rs.17,752/- and Rs.1581/- as arrears of previous year and Rs.960/- as adjustment.
7. The ld.counsel for the opposite parties has argued that the complainant is a chronic defaulter since June, 2015. The bill issued to the complainant is according to the consumption of the meter of the complainant. The opposite party has rightly issued bill as per the actual consumption of the complainant. The current consumption charges for 1246 units consumed is Rs.9,007/- and the arrears of the bill for the year 2015 is Rs.56,747/- and the arrears of bill for the year 2016 is Rs.79,122/- and Rs.485/- has been charged as a difference of infrastructures development charge in sundry column and as such the total bill comes Rs.1,45,361/-. So, there is no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. In our opinion, the opposite party has rightly charged the disputed amount from the complainant.
8. In the light of the all above, the present complaint is hereby dismissed. However the present complainant is at liberty to seek an appropriate ‘judicial resolve’ to his dispute before the ‘civil-court’ of competent jurisdiction. No orders as to the present costs
9. Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges and file be duly consigned to records.
(Naveen Puri)
President
Announced: (Jagdeep Kaur)
March,09 2018 Member
*MK*
