| Final Order / Judgement | DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION FAZILKA.
Complaint No. : CC/140/2023 Date of Institution : 18.12.2023 Date of Decision : 28.11.2024
Maan Chand aged about 70 years S/o Tara Chand R/o Street No.14, Nayi Abadi, Abohar, Tehsil Abohar, District Fazilka. ...Complainant
Versus
S.D.O, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd., Division-II, Abohar, Tehsil Abohar, District Fazilka. X.E.N, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd., Division-II, Abohar, Tehsil Abohar, District Fazilka. S.E, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd., Kotakpura Road, Power House, Sri Muktsar Sahib. Chief Engineer, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd., West Zone, Opposite Thermal Plant Bathinda, Tehsil and District Bathinda.
...Opposite Parties. Complaint U/s 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Quorum: Sh.Vishal Arora, President. Sh.Raghbir Singh Sukhija, Member. Smt.Tajinder Kaur, Member.
Present: Sh.Maan Chand, complainant in person. Sh.Y.R Puri, counsel for opposite parties. ORDER (Vishal Arora, President:) Complainant has filed the present complaint U/s 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 against the opposite parties for seeking directions to the opposite parties to disconnect the electricity connection bearing No.Y42KN340130K and cancel the pending bills issued by them from the date of moving application to disconnect the connection, to return the bill amounts, which have been paid by the complainant after filing the application dated 18.02.2022 to disconnect the connection and to pay Rs.1,00,000/- as compensation for causing financial loss, harassment, mental agony and tension. Briefly stated, the case of complainant is that an electricity NRS connection bearing No.Y42KN340130K was running in his name. Now, he had no need of the electricity connection due to close of the shop at Abohar. It has been pleaded that on 18.02.2022, he moved an application to the opposite party No.1 to disconnect the electricity connection and paid the entire bill against the electricity connection. He also attached the copy of bills and receipt of paid bill with the application, but the opposite party No.1 did not disconnect the electricity connection of the complainant. Thereafter, after passing of one month, the complainant went to PSPCL Abohar to enquire regarding non-disconnecting of the electricity connection till date, the opposite party No.1 told that a new bill of the electricity connection is pending and it will disconnect the electricity connection after payment of this bill. It has been further averred that thereafter, he paid the new bill. After paying the new bill, he showed the receipt to the opposite party No.1 and requested to disconnect the connection. After that, the opposite party No.1 again issued 3-4 more bills after 18.02.2022, but never disconnected the electricity connection. After sometime, the complainant again visited the office of the opposite party No.1 and requested to disconnect his electricity connection, who did not disconnect the same. On 03.01.2023, the complainant gave an application to XEN PSPCL, Division-2, Abohar i.e. opposite party No.2 and Superintendant Engineer, Sri Muktsar Sahib i.e. opposite party No.3 to remind them to disconnect his electricity connection, but to no effect. Due to the act of the opposite party No.1, the complainant has suffered from mental agony and harassment. It is further case of the complainant that on 02.01.2023, the complainant approached the office of opposite party No.1, who told him to meet J.E. Vinod Kumar. The complainant went to meet J.E. Vinod Kumar, but his office was locked. Thereafter, the complainant many times approached the opposite parties and requested them to disconnect his electricity connection bearing No.Y42KN340130K, but everytime, they did not give him any satisfactory reply. Hence, this complaint. The complainant was heard with regard to admission of the complaint and vide order dated 08.01.2024, the complaint was admitted and notice was ordered to be issued to the opposite parties. Upon notice, the opposite parties appeared and filed their joint written version to the complaint raising certain preliminary objections interalia to the effect that the complainant did not approach the Commission with clean hands and has concealed material and patent facts from this Commission while filing the present complaint. As per record, he had an electric connection of NRS category having sanctioned load of .880 K.W for his shop. On the application dated 18.02.2022 of the complainant, PDCO dated 15.03.2022 was issued to disconnect his electricity connection. On 19.03.2022, Vijay Kumar, Lineman visited the spot to effect PDCO and the complainant made an oral request not to disconnect his electricity connection. Due to this reason, the PDCO was not affected and report was made by the concerned J.E. Vikas Kumar upon the PDCO. The complainant consumed the electricity through the electricity connection, but paid the electricity bill only upto the bill dated 07.11.2022 and thereafter, he did not pay the electricity bills. Now, an amount of Rs.15,140/- as consumption bills is due towards him. Thereafter, after creating a false story, he filed the present false complaint with an intention to harass and pressurize the opposite parties. Due to arrears amount of bills and his complaint treating it as a request, his electricity connection was disconnected on 24.01.2024 by effecting the PDCO. As such, the present complaint is liable to be dismissed. This Commission has no jurisdiction to try and dispose of the present complaint as the complainant has been consuming the electricity for commercial purpose. He obtained the electricity connection from PSPCL and was paying the charges to it. PSPCL is a necessary party, which has been not impleaded in the present complaint and proper adjudication of the present complaint is not possible. The present complaint is not maintainable and complicated question of law and fact are involved in the present matter and the same could not be tried under the summary process of this Commission. The complainant has no cause-of-action or locus-standi to file the present complaint. On merits, it has been pleaded that the complainant has himself admitted in his complaint that "Now he has no need of the abovesaid electric connection due to close the shop at Abohar", meaning thereby, before filing of the present complaint, he was in need of the electricity connection and that is why, the electricity connection was running on the spot and electricity was being used by him. After denying all other averments of the complainant, the opposite parties have prayed for dismissal of the present complaint. The complainant has placed on record his affidavits (Ex.C1 and Ex.C5); Copies of documents (Ex.C2 and Ex.C3); Pen Drive (Ex.C4) and closed the evidence. Per contra, learned counsel for opposite parties has tendered into evidence affidavit of Sh.Roshan Lal, SDO/AEE (Ex.OP/1) and documents (Ex.OP/2 to Ex.OP/18) and closed the evidence. We have heard the complainant and learned counsel for the opposite parties and have also carefully gone through the record. The complainant and learned counsel for the opposite parties have argued on the same lines as per their respective pleadings and careful consideration has been given to the submissions made by them. Admitted facts are that on 18.02.2022, the complainant moved an application to the opposite party No.1 to disconnect his electricity connection bearing No.Y42KN340130K vide application (Ex.C2) and paid the bills against the electricity connection up to 07.11.2022 and thereafter he did not pay the bills. The main dispute between the parties is that despite moving an application dated 18.02.2022 (Ex.C2) for disconnecting the electicity connection bearing No.Y42KN340130K, the opposite parties did not disconnect the electricity connection of the complainant, who is senior citizen aged 70 years and they sent the bills after 18.02.2022 to the complainant. As per complainant, he many times approached opposite parties and requested them to disconnect his electricity connection, but they kept sending him bills after 18.02.2022. And under compelling circumstances, the complainant had to pay the electricity bills up to 07.11.2022 i.e. bills dated 04.03.2022 of Rs.340/- (Ex.OP/6); 08.05.2022 of Rs.650/- (Ex.OP/7); 03.07.2022 of Rs.610/- (Ex.OP/8); 29.08.2022 of Rs.580/- (Ex.OP/9) and 07.11.2022 of Rs.590/- (Ex.OP/10), totaling Rs.2770/-. Thereafter on 03.01.2023, the complainant also moved an application to X.E.N, PSPCL, Abohar to get his electricity connection disconnected as per his previous request, but despite that, opposite parties sent the bills dated 07.01.2023 of Rs.470/- (Ex.OP/11); 09.03.2023 of Rs.970/- (Ex.OP/12); 07.05.2023 of Rs.1620/- (Ex.OP/13); 09.07.2023 of Rs.6470/- (Ex.OP/14); 05.09.2023 of Rs.8150/- (Ex.OP/15); 03.11.2023 of Rs.10,150/- (Ex.OP/16); 06.01.2024 of Rs.13,770/- (Ex.OP/17) and 26.01.2024 of Rs.15,140/- (Ex.OP/18). Finally, after seveal requests made by the complainant, his electricity connection was disconnected on 24.01.2024 by effecting the PDCO (Ex.OP/3). The plea of opposite parties to the effect that “This Commission has no jurisdiction to try and dispose of the present complaint as the complainant has been consuming the electricity for commercial purpose” is not tenable as no evidence to prove the same has been led by the opposite parties. So, we are of the considered opinion that despite moving an application dated 18.02.2022 by the complainant for disconnecting the electricity connection, the complainant had to pay the bills up to 07.11.2022 due to lapse and callous attitude of the opposite parties as opposite parties continuously kept on sending the bills to the complainant and did not disconnect his electricity connection, which was finally disconnected on 24.01.2024, which is after delay of more than 1 year and 11 months from moving the application dated 18.02.2022. The pleading of the opposite parties to the effect that the complainant made a request on 19.03.2022 to Sh.Vijay Kumar, Lineman not to disconnect his electricity connection is false and baseless and no such written request to prove the same has been placed on file by the opposite parties. And the said plea has been taken by the opposite parties to cover the deficiency in service on their part in not disconnecting the electricity connection of the complainant since filing of the application dated 18.02.2022 (Ex.C2), which is clearly apparent on the face of record and also from the testimony of the complainant in affidavit (Ex.C5). Thus, there is clear 'deficiency in service' on the part of opposite parties for not disconnecting the electricity connection of the complainant for a long period of 1 year and 11 months and sending him the bills despite his written request dated 18.02.2022. In view of what has been discussed above, the present complaint is partly allowed against the opposite parties with Rs.10,000/- as compensation on account of harassment/mental agony and Rs.5000/- as costs of litigation. The opposite parties have disconnected the electricity connection of the complainant on 24.01.2024 after filing of present complaint on 18.12.2023 and complainant had to pay the bills against his electricity connection up to 07.11.2022 despite moving application for disconnection on 18.02.2022. As such, all the onwards bills of the complainant after 07.11.2022 i.e. bills dated 07.01.2023 of Rs.470/- (Ex.OP/11); 09.03.2023 of Rs.970/- (Ex.OP/12); 07.05.2023 of Rs.1620/- (Ex.OP/13); 09.07.2023 of Rs.6470/- (Ex.OP/14); 05.09.2023 of Rs.8150/- (Ex.OP/15); 03.11.2023 of Rs.10,150/- (Ex.OP/16); 06.01.2024 of Rs.13,770/- (Ex.OP/17) and bill dated 26.01.2024 of Rs.15,140/- (Ex.OP/18), which inlcudes arrears of all previous bills since 07.01.2023 are hereby quashed and opposite parties are directed to refund all the bill amounts deposited by the complainant after 18.02.2022 till 05.12.2022 as per Ex.OPs/4. The compliance of this order be made within 45 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order, failing which the opposite parties will be liable to pay additional cost of Rs.15,000/- to the complainant. Copy of order be sent to the parties concerned free of costs and file be indexed and consigned to the record room. Announced in Open Commission 28-11-2024 (Vishal Arora) President (Raghbir Singh Sukhija) Member (Tajinder Kaur) Member
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