Complainant Sahib Dayal through the present complaint filed under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short, ‘the Act’) has prayed that the present complaint may be accepted with costs and direction may be issued to the opposite parties to exclude the amount of Rs.6308/- as Sundry Charges and allowances in the bill of the complainant and receive actual consumption bill from him. He has also prayed that opposite parties be directed to pay the amount of compensation to him amounting to Rs.20,000/- for illegal harassment.
2. The case of the complainant in brief is that he had constructed his house for residential purpose and installed electric meter bearing account No.G-31CF-250085H in the name of his father Sh.Ram Nath who had died and after his death complainant approached the opposite parties many times and requested them to change the electric domestic connection in his name and even completed all the formalities for change of name but the opposite parties had not changed the same in the name of the complainant. It was pleaded that complainant continue to consume the electricity from the said connection and was paying the electricity charges to the opposite parties and never defaulted in payment of electricity charges. It was further pleaded that on 8.2.2016 opposite parties had issued the bill to the complainant amounting to Rs.7240/- in which Rs.6308/- was claimed as sundry charges and allowances without giving notice to the complainant. It was further pleaded that complainant had been regularly paying the electricity bills to the opposite parties and never defaulter in payment of electricity charges and the amount in question claimed by the opposite parties in the impugned bill is illegal and complainant is not liable to pay the same. It was also pleaded that complainant requested the opposite parties to explain regarding the amount of Rs.6308/- included in the bill but the opposite parties refused to explain the same and threatened him that they will recover the impugned amount and also threatened that they will disconnect his electric connection, hence this complaint.
- Notice of the complaint was served upon the opposite parties who appeared through their counsel and filed the written reply by taking the preliminary objections that complainant had filed the false and frivolous complaint with the intention to harass the opposite parties; complainant had not approached this Ld. Forum with clean hands and had concealed the material facts; present complaint is not maintainable and complaint of complainant is bad for non joinder and mis joinder of necessary parties. On merits, it was stated that in the month of July, 2014 the electric meter of the complainant was changed and due to ‘F’ Code the computer section had sent the bill for 214 units whereas the actual consumption of the complainant was 713 units (old reading 709, new reading 1422) and the cost of unpaid units of Rs.3243/- was recoverable from the complainant but the computer section oust the double amount i.e. Rs.6486/-. It was stated that the amount of Rs.3243/- was adjusted by opposite party vide SCO No.11/11 and the amount of Rs.3243/- was the unpaid energy charges of the complainant and the rest amount is the current bill of the complainant, so the amount demanded by the opposite party is legal and genuine and there was no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party. It was denied that complainant approached the opposite parties and it was also denied complainant was harassed by the opposite parties. All other averments made in the complaint have denied and lastly prayed for dismissal of the complaint with costs.
4. Complainant had tendered into evidence his own affidavit Ex.C1 along with documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C4 and closed his evidence.
5. Counsel for the opposite parties had tendered into evidence affidavit of Sh.Sukhdev Raj SDO Ex.OP-1 and closed the evidence on behalf of opposite parties.
6 We have duly heard the learned counsels for both the sides in the back drop of the legally applicable merit of the supporting evidence/document(s) as produced by the litigating parties in order to statutorily resolve the inter-se dispute (in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act’ 1986) prompting the present complaint. We find that the complainant has been in receipt of a consumption Bill dated 08.02.2016 for Rs.7,240/- (Ex.C2) against the current consumption of 114 units, only; having paid the consumption Bill up to December’ 2015 and with no arrears due to him. Upon approach, the OP service providers did not rectify the impugned excessive amount of Rs.6,308/- but instead threatened to recover the same through coercive means such as disconnection of supply etc and carrying over the disputed amount to the next Bills and that prompted the present complaint.
7. However, the opposite party corporation (service providers) has explained that the impugned Bill Ex.C2 simply reflected the charges for July’ 2014 for actual consumption of 713 units on account of the summations of the readings of the new Meter and the old Meter. The OP has somehow failed to explain as to why and when the electric Meter was changed and that too without the knowledge of the consumer complainant. Even, the calculations of summations of the two Meters readings have not been produced for unexplained reasons and thus the OP Corporation has failed to satisfactorily explain the genuineness of the impugned Bill. Further, the OP Corporation has deposed (Ex.OP1) that the correct arrears amount of Rs.3243/- has somehow been ‘doubled’ to Rs.6,486/- though inadvertently by its computer section and out of which Rs.3243/- was adjusted vide SCO 11/11 and the balance was outstanding. Somehow, we do not find the explanation as made out by the opposite party service providers as satisfactory and legally valid. It decidedly amounts to ‘deficiency in service’ under the statute on the part of the OP Corporation and that rakes it up for an adverse statutory award.
8. Moreover, it has never been the case of the OP Corporation that the complainant has damaged the OP Electric Meter to record ‘low’ consumption and during the OP ‘checking’ an unauthorized consumption was detected for which the complainant was legally liable to pay. The demand as put forth upon the complainant for payment of the impugned Bill by the opposite party corporation has not been a matter of routine and also not in accordance with the legally accrued amounts as per the Sales & Distribution of Electricity Rules & Regulations etc.
9. In the light of the all above, we partly allow the present complaint and thus ORDER the opposite party corporation to withdraw the impugned demand of Rs.6308/- in the bill dated 08.02.2016 for Rs.7240/- besides to pay Rs.3,000/- to the complainant as cost and compensation within 30 days of the receipt of the copy of the present orders otherwise the awarded amount shall attract interest @ 9% PA from the date of the complaint till actual payment. The complainant shall however be liable to pay only the simple accrued charges for his actual consumption on regular basis.
- Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned to records.
(Naveen Puri)
President.
ANNOUNCED: (Jagdeep Kaur)
JULY, 11, 2016 Member.
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