Orissa

Rayagada

CC/153/2015

Sri Agragamll Das - Complainant(s)

Versus

The Gaeneral Manager, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., - Opp.Party(s)

Sri Srinivash Das

09 Apr 2018

ORDER

DISTRICT   CONSUMER  DISPUTES REDRESSAL    FORUM, RAYAGADA,

STATE:  ODISHA.

C.C. Case  No. 153 / 2015.                                       Date.    9    .4. 2018.

P R E S E N T .

Dr. Aswini  Kumar Mohapatra,                   President

Sri GadadharaSahu, .                               Member.

Smt.  Padmalaya  Mishra,                          Member

Sri Achyut Das, Director of the N.G.O Agragamee,  Working for the welfare of the Tribals and down trodden in Odisha, Head office  at Kasipur, Po:Kasipur,         Dist.Rayagada,State:  Odisha.

                                                                                                                        …….Complainant

Vrs.

1.The  General Manager, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., Telecom District, Koraput- 764020

2. The Sub-divisional Officer, Complaints CGMT, BSNLOdisha Circle, Bhubaneswar.

3.S.D.O., Telephone, BSNL,Rayagada.                                                            .…..Opp.Parties

Counsel for the parties:                         

For the complainant: - Sri Mohan Nayak,  Advocate, Rayagada.

For the O.Ps :- Sri N.K.Das and Sri P.Ch.Das, Advocate, Rayagada

                                J u d g e m e n t.

        The  present disputes emerges out of the grievances raised by the  complaint petition filed by the above named complainant alleging deficiency in service  against  afore mentioned O.Ps for disconnection of  BSNL  land line  and  broad band facility from Dt.1.1.2013. The   brief facts of the case are summarised here under.

1) That  the  complainant  has its head office located  at Kasipur in Rayagada  District .  The  said organisation is having the telephone connection facility  service provided by the O.Ps for valuable  consideration and is having the land line Nos.06865-285009, 285049, 285174 which was   also facilitated broad band  connectivity with these phone lines.  Due to the poor maintenance by the O.Ps the above phone   lines were disconnected since 1.1.2013 as a result the Broad bands also been  disconnected.  The complainant  has approached the O.Ps by repeated correspondence to them but there is no fruitful result.  The O.Ps are not ready to  prepared  and rectify the above defects nor they have prepared  to  restore the telephone service which is much more necessary &  helpful to the office of the complainant as well as  society at large in all walks  of life.   The complainant is a sufferer of the deficiency in service  in the hands of the O.Ps right from Dt. 1.1.2013 till date  and all the attempts made by him to restore the services  promised  /offered by the O.Ps as a statutory authority also failed and it is a continuing cause of action.  Hence this case. The complainant prays the forum to direct the  O.Ps to pay monetary compensation @ Rs.10,000/- per month  from  1.1.2013 till  its restoration at the same time   direct the O.Ps to restore broad band facility   as early as possible for ends of justice and such other relief as the hon’ble forum deems fit and proper for the best interest of justice.

2) On being noticed the O.Ps appeared through their learned counsel and  submitted that  the complaint petition is not all  true and correct and for those that  are not  specifically admitted here under the complainant is called upon to strict proof of the same. That  the averments made in the  petition are  all false, and O.Ps  deny   each and every allegation made in the petition. The O.Ps taking other grounds in the written version   sought to dismiss the complaint as it is not maintainable  under the C.P. Act, 1986.  Hence the O.Ps  prays the forum to dismiss the case against  them  to meet the ends of justice.

The O.Ps appeared and filed their written version.  Heard arguments from the  learned counsel for  the  O.Ps and from the complainant.    Perused the record, documents, written version  filed by the parties. 

The  parties advanced their  arguments. The counsel for the O.Ps vehemently opposed the complaint touching the points both on the facts  as well as on  law.

                                                                         FINDINGS.

3)In written version para-2 the O.Ps contended that  2(two) land phones 06865-285009 and 06865-285149 were connected  in the  office  premises  of the complainant   by  underground cabling.    There was no land phone bearing No.06865 -285174  provided to the complainant by the O.Ps.  Both the phones were  i.e.   285009, 285149  had disconnected as  per the closer  application submitted by the complainant ( copies of the same enclosed by the O.P in the file marked as Annexure-I  &   Annexure-2.  Further  in the year 2012 there was road expansion (widening) and repair works  done by the  authority in respect of  the road that was leading to complainant’s office at Kashipur. Due to the said road work and water pipe laying work the underground cable of the BSNL was damaged at different places as a result of which  the land phones could not properly  functioning.   Again the complainant   applied for the WIMAX connections and  two WIMAX connections were installed on Dt. 22.12.2012 and 30.1.2013. But unfortunately  the  said  WIMAX equipments became faulty on Dt. 5.4.2014  due to the technical problems. The O.P. in letter No.P-37/2014-15 Dt.13.5.2014 was duly informed that due to non functioning of the WIMAX, the concerned authorities of WIMAX ,at Bhubaneswar has been informed to do the needful. The complainant is further informed that the bills for the interruption period will be waived out. In para -6   of the  written version the O.Ps clearly mentioned  that the estimate for laying the new cables in place of damaged ones to connect the two land phones for the complainant came to a huge amount of Rs.2,05,080/-. The G.M., T.D. office, Koaput was not amenable to do the work  which is beyond  their authority as it is not commercially viable, so the laying of the   new cable line at such huge costs for just  two lines was allowed. Now the BSNL is a   corporation and not a Govt. organization. It has its own consideration for investing funds.  Again  the WIMAX lies in operative   due to technical fault from 5.4.2014 and complainant was informed  in the same letter Dt. 14.5.2014 that the bills  if any paid for the interrupted period of the WIMEX will be  waived out. The complainant  has not informed if he has made any payment on the account of WIMAX for the period after  5.4.2014. Further the O.Ps were undone and helpless and could not restore connection to the land phones by laying new cables and as the bed luck could  have  if the WIMAX connection  also went wrong due to the technical defect.  

 

During the course of hearing the  learned counsel for the complainant submitted  that  as against  the Annexure – 1 & 2  O.Ps  had obtained  the signature  of the complainant  in the pretext of some  thing  different, later used the closed application without  consent  from the complainant.  In lieu of land line the O.Ps had  installed  2 Nos of Wimex but the   wimex  service also not utilized by the complainant  as the same are not functioning  which are admitted by the O.Ps in their written version.

The learned counsel for the complainant submitted that the  existing landlines with  broad band facility   is highly essential  as early as possible  for the complainant as the organization is being  implemented the programme of the Government for the social good. Further the learned counsel for the  complainant submitted that  the area of working  of the  complainant’s  N.G.O are in remote tribal  areas and if such services were disturbed the entire tribal  peoples will suffer and the complainant who has under taken the service  authorised by the Government  will ultimately suffer and the progamme implemented by the  Government  can not be properly utilized for such deficiency.

Again the complainant is a leading N.G. O  of Odisha  and had  a State Resource centre for adult education supported by the Ministry  of H.R.D. Government of India and as such in order to provide better service  the land line service  is highly essential since the communication  right is the valuable right for the development and for valuable  information the advise and  instructions to be  communicated  &  followed by  it issued by the various  authorities  working  in the same field and encouraging  for the development  of the society and to improve the economic standard of the tribals.

In view of the above discussion relating to the above case and  In Res-IPSA-Loquiture  as well as  in the light of the settled legal position  discussed  as above there  exists deficiency in service on the part of the  O.Ps which is Aliane Juris. Hence  we allow the above complaint petition  in part.

Hence to meet the ends of justice, the following order is passed.

                                                               

                                                                ORDER.

In Resultant the complaint petition is allowed in part on contest  against the O.Ps.

4)The O.Ps  ordered to  restore the telephone of the complainant bearing   land line Nos.06865-285009, 285049, 285174 in working condition with broad band facility immediately within 15 days. Parties are left to bear their own costs.

The O.Ps  are  ordered to comply the above directions within  30 days from the date of receipt of this order. Serve the copies of the above  order  to the parties concerned immediately free of charges.

Dictated and corrected by me        Pronounced on this            9  ^th.   Day of   April,  2018.

 

                Member.                                             Member.                                                             President