DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM: BHADRAK
Dated the 24th day of May, 2019
C.D Case No. 71 of 2016
Present 1. Shri Raghunath Kar, President
2. Shri Basanta Kumar Mallick, Member
3. Afsara Begum, Member
Ganesh Prasad Bagodai
W/o: Late Gobinda Chandra Bagodai
At/Po: Adhuan,
Ps: Basudevpur,
Dist: Bhadrak ……………………. Complainant
(Versus)
1. Executive Engineer, (NESCO), Bhadrak South
At/Po/Dist: Bhadrak
2. S.D.O (NESCO)
At/Po/Ps: Basudevpur,
Dist: Bhadrak
3. Junior Engineer (Electrical)
At/Po/Ps: Basudevpur,
Dist: Bhadrak …………………………..Opp. Parties
Counsel For Complainant: Sri J. B. Agasti, Adv
Counsel For the O.Ps: Sri D. Nayak, Adv
Date of hearing: 24.01.2019
Date of order: 24.05.2019
RAGHUNATH KAR, PRESIDENT
This dispute arises out of the complaint filed by the complainant alleging deficiency of service and unfair trade practice.
The facts of the complaint are to the effect that the complainant is a consumer bearing consumer No. B-2-51618 of Electrical Dept. under the jurisdiction of the O.Ps since the date of supply of electric power to the complainant, the complainant has been using the said electric power in his residential house it as a domestic consumer. The complainant has contended that the O.Ps have assessed Rs 75,869/- as the revenue which is illegal that and unjust without any verification and imposed upon the complainant to deposit the same amount on or before 31.05.2016. The O.Ps have further alleged the complainant has been using the said electricity power unauthorizedly and he has done some mischief with the meter. In fact the meter is in a good position and running smoothly and there is mischief caused by the complainant. The complainant has also alleged that the OP No. 2 has wrongly prepared the bill and served upon the complainant on 31.05.2016. The cause of action arose on the very day 31.05.2016 on which the complainant received the said bill. At last without finding any alternative way, the complainant has been compelled to file this complaint in this Forum to obtain the following reliefs.
1. The O.Ps be directed to exempt and waive out the said illegal imposed money of Rs 75,869/- which is pending in the name of the complainant or any suitable order be passed in favour of the complainant.
2. The cost of the proceeding be given to the complainant.
3. An order be passed and directing the O.Ps to pay a sum of Rs 20,000/- (Twenty Thousand) only for mental agony.
The complainant has filed following documents (Xerox copies).
1. The electricity monthly bill of the month of April 2016 on dt. 28.05.2016.
2. The voter identity card of the complainant.
On the other hand all the O.Ps have filed their written version analogously. They have challenged the maintainability and cause of action of this case. The O.Ps have also challenged the jurisdiction and limitation of this case. The claim of the deponent is not only wrong, illegal, excessive and colorauble but also barred by limitation and suffers with suppression of mental facts and thereby is not deserved for any merit for consideration. The O.Ps have further challenged that the complainant have failed to file any affidavit along with the complaint for which the complaint is liable to be dismissed. They have also stated that the complainant ahs not come to this Forum with clean hands. They have further denied the averments made by the complainant is the Para No- 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of this complaint. Hence the O.Ps have prayed for dismissal of this complaint.
The documents filed by the O.Ps (Xerox copies).
1. Billing statement of the complainant.
2. Spot verification report.
3. Provisional assessment order.
4. Final assessment order.
OBSERVATION
We have already perused the complaint and the documents filed by the complainant as well as the written version and the documents filed by the O.Ps. According to our observation we have found that the complainant has not come to this Forum clean handed because the O.Ps have made spot verification and prepared report both in provisional and final assessment. This proceeding is not maintainable in this Forum because this case is covered under unauthorized use of electricity U/s 126 of Electricity Act, 2003 and per landmark judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court between “U.P Power Corporation Ltd. Vs Anish Ahmed” dt. 01.072.013. Again, by the recent order of the Learned State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Odisha, in Revision Petition No- 66/2012 (arising out of CD Case No- 68/2012 of the Dist. Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Bhadrak) the learned State Commission held that the case U/s 126 is not maintainable before the Consumer Forum and accordingly quashed the CD Case No- 68/2012 and directed the complainant to file appeal before the appellate authority. The complainant was using excess 3 KW load in his premises by extra hooking process which was detected by the NESCO officials on 06.10.2015. In presence of the consumer the spot verification report (SVR) was prepared and after being satisfied in the verification process the complainant received a copy of the same and signed in the report in token of an acknowledgement. As per decisions of Hon’ble National Commission in Revision Case No- 238/2011 it was decided that once the spot verification report (SVR) is prepared in presence of the consumer and he has signed in it then he cannot deny that subsequently. According to Odisha Electricity Act, 2003 U/s 127 after receiving of the SVR the complainant should have preferred an appeal in the appropriate Forum challenging the SVR prepared by the O.Ps U/s 126 of the said Act. Without doing so and without filing any objection against the preliminary assessment and the final assessment, filing the CD Case in this Forum is not lawful and barred to the CP Act. Further both the preliminary and the final assessment report have been duly served upon the complainant. The complainant has not filed any objection in the proper Forum in time. In the present case we have found that there is no deficiency of service and dishonest trade practice have been caused by the O.Ps towards the complainant. Hence we have reached at the conclusion that the complainant have preferred the wrong Forum to file this case. Hence it is ordered;
- ORDER
The complaint be and the same is dismissed having no merit without cost.
This order is pronounced in the open Forum on this day of 24th May, 2019 under my hand and seal of the Forum.
