Order No. -46                                                                                                        Dt.-09/07/2015

Shri Asoke Kumar Das,President

Complainant’s case in short is that she took electric connection from the O.Ps.,WBSEDCL on 03/03/’12 after observing all formalities. Her consumer Id no. is 400187400, and her Consumer Serial no. is 4000291224. She has paid all the bills of the O.P. company upto date. On 03/11/’12 at about 01:00 P.M. some officials of the O.P. company came to her house and disconnected her electric connection without any reason. The complainant went to Dhupguri office of O.P. company on 05/11/’12 but none of the official gave reply to her regarding the cause of disconnection of her electric line. On 06/11/12 she again went to the said office of O.P. company and requested for restoration of her electric connection, but invain. On 07/11/’12 she sent an application to the Station Manager, WBSEDCL, Dhupguri enclosing relevant documents of her service connection with prayer for restoration of her electric connection. But no fruitful result came out.  Aforesaid urbritary, wrongful, illegal & negligent act the O.Ps. amounts to deficiency in service.

The O.Ps. have contested this case by filing a W/V denying and disputing the claims and the contention of the complaint with prayer for dismissal of this case.

Their specific stand is that electric connection was given in the premises of the complaint on 03/03/’12 and within a few months the O.Ps. came to know about existence of another electric connection in the same premises in the name of Smt. Keya Ghosh, the erstwhile owner of the said building since 08/11/1993. She didn’t pay the out standing electric bill and her connection was deemed permanently from 6/2002 due to entry of disconnection in the system and that deemed connection was opened on 03/2011 and the  Meter reading of Smt. Keya Ghosh was 12021 on 24/06/’11 and the total bill amount was Rs.59,899/-. That bill was unpaid and the complaint obstructed their staff to disconnect the said line. On 24/09/’11 the reading of the said Meter was 12504 and as such the total outstanding amount was Rs.61,807/- and that line was disconnected on 19/10/’11. As the complaint became owner of the house from 02/09/’02 and as she paid tax for the said house from 2003, so the aforesaid electric energy was consumed by her since the date of her purchase and as such they entered in to the premises of the complainant and disconnected her electric connection on 03/11/’12 as per law. So, there was no deficiency of service on their part.

-:: Points for consideration ::-

1) Is the case maintainable?

2) Is the complaint is a consumer?

3) Are the O.Ps. guilty for deficiency in service as alleaged?

4) Is the complaint entitle to the reliefs as prayed for?

-:: Decision with reasons::-

All points are taken up together for consideration and decision.

Seen and perused the petition of complaint, the W/V, evidence adduced by both the parties, the W/A filed by the parties and all other relevant materials on record. Now after due consideration of all these we find that admittedly the complainant is a consumer of the O.P., WBSEDCL Dhupguri. Admittedly electric connection was given to her premises on 03/03/’12 by the O.Ps. after observing all their formalities. Admittedly there is no outstanding dues of the complaint for her consumption of electric energy in her Meter no.-P1526100. It is comming out from the materials on record that electric connection of the complainant(Meter no.P1526100) was disconnected by the O.Ps. on 03/11/’12. This case was filed by the complaint on 23/11/12 i.e. well within the period of limitation as per provision of C.P.Act 1986. So, we have no hesitation to hold that this case is well maintainable. The reason as shown by the O.Ps. in their W/V and the witness examind by the O.Ps. for disconnection of electric line of complainant are practically baseless. Because had the O.Ps. any allegation against  the erstwhile owner Smt.Keya Ghosh for consumption of huge electric energy without payment from the electric meter allotted to her then they should have taken action against Smt.Keya Ghosh or the person who had actually stepped into her shoes either by disconnecting the said electric line or by taking other appropriate legal action. Further more when the meter in question was deemed closed permanently from 6/2002 due to entry of disconnection in the system, then how and on whose prayer that connection was opened on 03/2011? Furthermore we find from the W/V that electric connection in the name of Keya Ghosh was disconnected by O.P. On 19/10/’11. So, it is clear that due to fault/ negligence of duty on the part of the men of WBSEDCL Dhupguri, the outstanding dues of Rs.61,807/- was accumulated and not realised and as such the O.P. had no right to disconnect the separate electric connection of the complainant. Further more we find that although the O.P.W.1 has stated that Notice was served upon the complainant before disconnection of her electric line but the O.Ps. Couldn’t produce the copy of the said Notice and the document of service of said Notice. Therefore we find and hold that the aforesaid act of disconnection of electric line of the complainant on 03/11/’12 by the O.P. was without any reason and even without service of Notice, which caused tremendous hardship and suffering to the complainant and other inmates of her house, and that act of OP was not proper at all and such act of O.P. May be termed as deficiency of service to some extent. How-ever when the matter was reported to this Forum by the complainant and as the O.Ps. restored the electric connection of the complainant (in Meter no.P1526100, Consumer Id no.400187400) on 01/12/’12 and as the complainant has been enjoying the electric connection in her house till date, we don’t want to give much importance in this matter. We hope and trust that the O.P. WBSEDCL will not disconnect the electric line of their bonafide consumer without reason and with out observing all statutory norms & formalities and without prior intimation/Notice.   

Now from the petition of the complaint we find that the main prayer of the complainant is for restoration of her electric connection. We have already stated that electric connection of the complainant has been restored from 01/12/’12 and the complainant has been enjoying electric connection uninterruptedly on paying the bills regularly and she has paid electric bill lastly on 21/04/’15 for Oct.2014 to Dec.2014. Therefore it is clear that the main grievance of the complaint has been fulfilled by the O.Ps. In such circumstance, in our considered opinion, the complainant does not require the same relief once again and as such this case deserved dismissal.

All points are disposed off.

Hence, it is

-:: Ordered::-

          That the case stands dismissed on contest but without cost.

Let a copy of the order be supplied both the parties free of cost forthwith in terms of Rule 5(10) of W.B. Consumer Protection Rule 1987.