Order No. 13 Dt. 22.07.2015
The petitioner is one of the sons of Late Subodh Chandra Bhaskar and Electric Connection stands in the name of his father bearing I.D. No. 342013256. His father died on 29.09.2009 and the legal heirs of the deceased Subodh Chandra Bhaskar residing in the said premises and consumed the electricity focused in the said meter.
About 8/9 months’ back the electric department placed digital meter taking away the old meter. On 16th January of this year a group of people came to the premises and disclosed that they are persons of West Bengal State Electricity Board and they abused the members of the petitioner’s family in filthy language and entered the room. They looked at the meter and thereafter they told them to come on the next date to the electric office. On 17.01.2015 the Electric Department handed over a bill of Rs. 430039/- and told them to come to the electric office to pay the bill amount and fixed a date for hearing on 20.01.2015.
Complainant did not attend the said meeting but the Electric Department threatened him and he was compelled to pay Rs. 180286/- as the amount was reduced by the Electric Department and he handed over the cheque in favour of the Electric Department and also paid Rs.1000/- for reconnection of the Electricity. The petitioner came to know that Electric Department filed one case u/s 135 of the Electricity Act against him. The Electric Department forcibly and intentionally squeezed money from the petitioner. So he filed this case praying for a compensation of Rs. 1600000/- for harassment and mental agony and asking for return of the amount which he paid to O.P. along with cost of litigation and other relief.
After receiving the summons of this case the O.P. appears and filed documents and submits that the petitioner files a false case. An inspection was conducted by the Electric Department with their high officials and they found that the meter was tampered for unauthorized use of electricity. In presence of the witnesses and the family members this was conducted and one Abhijit Bhaskar who is one of the legal heirs of Late Subodh Chandra Bhaskar received the copy on 16.01.2015 by putting his signature and thereafter the Electric Dept. lodged a written complaint to the English Bazar Police Station, Malda against the petitioner along with other persons as raided the other houses of the locality on 16.01.2015. They also filed another paper that Sri Dipak Sanyal, Divnl. Engineer of Malda Regional Office filed FIR and the seizure list regarding the raid conducted by them on that areas on 16.01.2015. Sri T.K. Das I.P.S. W.B.S.E.D.C.L (Security & Vigilance) wrote a letter on 29.01.2015 to S.P. of Malda regarding the fate of the P.S. Case Nos. 30/2015, 31/2015, 33/2015 and 34/2015.
Ld.advocates of both the sides submit respective submissions. The Forum with all the documents available in the record, came to the conclusion that the petitioner’s father Late Subodh Chandra Bhaskar is a bona fide customer but after the death of Mr. Subodh Chandra Bhaskar his heirs did not send any intimation to O.P.s in writing by registered post. On the other hand, when the Electric Department conducted raid on the date, 16.01.2015 they found the meter of the petitioner was tampered and they received the copy of the same by one of the member Abhijit Bhaskar who is one of the legal heirs of Late Subodh Chandra Bhaskar and the meter only stands in the name of Late Subodh Chandra Bhaskar and the petitioner along with the other persons consumed electricity in illegal manner and they paid the amount of Rs. 180286/- as a provisional assessment and the specific complaint has been started u/s 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Then we think there is no other alternative but to dismiss the case as the petitioner is not a bona fide consumer.
Hence, it is ordered
that Malda D.F.C. Case No. 09/2015 be and the same is hereby dismissed on contest without any further order as to cost.
A copy of this order be given to the parties free of cost.
