Punjab

Rupnagar

CC/15/91

Santosh Gupta - Complainant(s)

Versus

Tushar Gas Service - Opp.Party(s)

Sh Dheeraj Pasricha ,adv.

17 Feb 2016

ORDER

ORDER

                                       MRS. NEENA SANDHU, PRESIDENT

                   Smt. Santosh Gupta has filed this complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) against the Opposite Party (hereinafter referred to as the O.P.) praying for issuance of the following directions to it:-

i)       To return the security amount of Rs.2400/-,

 

ii)      To pay Rs.20,000/- as compensation for unnecessary harassment faced by her including litigation expenses.

 

2.                In brief, the case of the complainant is that she had taken an LPG connection from the O.P., when it was running its agency under the name & style—‘PC Gas Service’ at 8-9, Dashmesh Nagar, Rupnagar and had deposited a sum of Rs.2400/- as security. The said connection was issued to her vide No. 11 dated 23.2.2013.  As the said connection was got issued for using the gas for domestic purpose only, as such, she is the consumer of the O.P.  Now the said gas agency has been shifted from Rupnagar to Rangilpur, Tehsil & District Rupnagar and has been functioning under the changed name and style as—‘Tushar Gas Service’ at the said place. As she did not want to avail the services of the O.P. further, she requested the O.P. to disconnect the gas connection issued to her and visited its office many times for the said purpose, but to no use. Thereafter, she gave an application dated 06.08.2014 to the O.P. requesting for return of the security amount of Rs.2400/-, but the O.P. put off the matter on one pretext or the other. As such, she served a legal notice dated 12.08.2015 upon it, but even no response to the same was given. Hence, this complaint.

 

3.                On being put to notice, the O.P. written version taking preliminary objections;  that the present complaint is not maintainable in the present form; that the complaint is liable to be dismissed due to non- joinder and mis-joinder of necessary & proper parties, as the O.P. is a dealer of Prachi Gas Bottling Pvt. Ltd., but the complainant has not impleaded Prachi Gas Service Bottling Pvt. Ltd., which was a necessary party; that the complainant has not returned the accessories delivered to her at the time of delivery of the connection, as such, the present complaint is not maintainable and is liable to be dismissed. On merits, it is admitted that the connection in question was issued to the complainant by it, when it was running its agency at 8-9, Dashmesh Nagar, Rupnagar and that it has now shifted its agency and has been functioning at village Rangilpur, Tehsil & District Rupnagar under the changed name & style as—‘Tushar Gas Service’. It is stated that the answering O.P is having the dealership of Prachi Gas Bottling Pvt. Ltd. and is providing services to its customers to its level best. As per the conditions mentioned in the Connection Application From, the refundable amount shall be half after the expiry of three hundred days and shall be one fourth after the expiry of five hundred days. All the conditions of the agreement/application form were explained to the complainant at the time of filing of the same by her and she had signed the same, after agreeing with the same. Rest of the allegations made in the complaint have also been denied and a prayer has been made for dismissal thereof, with costs.

 

4.                On being called upon to do so, the learned counsel for the complainant tendered affidavit of the complainant as Ex.C1 and various other documents as Ex. C2 to Ex. C9 and closed the evidence. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the O.P. tendered affidavit of Smt. Dimple as Ex.OP2 alongwith photocopies of documents Ex.OP-1 & Ex.OP-3 and closed the evidence.

 

5.                We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and gone through the record of the file, including written arguments filed by the learned counsel for the parties, carefully.

 

6.                At the outset, the learned counsel for the O.P. argued that the present complaint is liable to be dismissed on the sole ground of non-joinder of necessary party i.e. Prachi Gas Bottling Pvt. Ltd., because the O.P. is the dealer of the said company. To this effect, the learned counsel for the complainant submitted that since the complainant had taken the gas connection in question from the O.P. by deposing the requisite charges including security amount with it and security is also to be refunded by it only, after disconnecting the said connection. Therefore, there was no need to implead Prachi Gas Bottling Pvt. Ltd., as a party, in the complaint.

 

7.                From the copy of Connection Application Form , Ex.OP3, it is evident that the O.P. is the dealer of Prachi Gas Bottling Pvt. Ltd., but at the same time, this fact cannot be denied that the complainant had paid the requisite charges including the security amount to the O.P., which had issued the LPG connection to her, therefore, it is also the duty of the O.P. to disconnect the said connection & refund the permissible security amount, as applied for by her and for the said purpose, impleading of Prachi Gas Bottling Pvt. Ltd., as a party in the complaint, was not necessary. Therefore, the objection raised by the O.P. to that effect is not sustainable, hence, rejected.

8.                Now coming to the merits of the case, the learned counsel for the complainant submitted that the complainant had approached the office of the O.P. for disconnection of the gas connection in question and for refund of the security amount of Rs.2400/- deposited by her and had even made request in writing vide application dated  6.08.2014, but inspite of that the O.P. did not accede to her request. Even it had not given any response to the legal notice dated 12.08.2015 issued by her. The said act of the O.P. amounts to deficiency in rendering service, therefore, it is not only liable to refund the security amount of Rs.2400/- to the complainant, but is also liable to pay compensation & litigation expenses to her, as prayed for in the complaint. On the contrary, the learned counsel for the O.P. submitted that as per the conditions mentioned in the Connection Application Form, Ex.OP3, which was duly singed by the complainant, the refundable security amount of Rs.2400 shall be half after the expiry of three hundred days and shall be one-fourth after the expiry of five hundred days. Moreover, the complainant has not returned the accessories delivered to her at the time of issuance of the connection, therefore, the complaint, being without any merit, be dismissed with costs.

 

9.                Admittedly, the complainant had deposited a sum of Rs.2400/- as security, at the time of taking the LPG connection in question from P.C. Gas Service, situated at Dashmesh Nagar, Rupnagar, which has now shifted its business to Rangilpur and is working there under the name & style—‘Tushar Gas Service’ i.e. the O.P. In the Connection Application Form, Ex.OP3, which is duly signed by the complainant, the refundable security amount has been mentioned as Rs.2400/-, but at the bottom of the said form, there is a specific note to the effect that “refundable amount shall be half after the expiry of three hundred days and shall be one-fourth after the expiry of five hundred days.” Although in para No. 3 of the complaint, the complainant had mentioned that she had taken the connection from the O.P. on 23.2.2013, yet the said date cannot be relied upon, because in the Connection Application Form, which is duly signed by her, the date of connection has been mentioned as 18.12.2012. The complainant had applied for disconnection of the connection in question & for refund of the security amount vide application dated 6.08.2014, Ex. C4. On calculation, it is found that she had applied for disconnection of the connection & for refund of the security amount, after the expiry of period of 500 days, from the date of issuance of the connection in question, therefore, as per the conditions mentioned in the Connection Application Form, on disconnection of the connection in question, she is entitled for refund of the 1/4^th of the security amount of Rs.2400/- i.e. Rs.600/- only. Since the O.P. has not disconnected the connection in question and has not refunded the permissible security amount to her even after issuance of a legal notice dated 12.8.2015 (Ex.C2), as such, she was left with no other alternative, except to file the instant complaint, therefore, the O.P. is not only liable to disconnect the connection in question & to refund the due security amount, but is also liable to pay her compensation on account of mental agony & physical harassment suffered by her alongwith litigation expenses. The complainant shall return the accessories supplied to her at the time of issuance of the said connection i.e. one cylinder plus regulator to the O.P.

10.              In view of the aforesaid discussion, we allow the complaint and direct the O.P. in the following manner:-

i)       To disconnect the LPG connection in question and refund an amount of Rs.600/- i.e. 1/4^th of the security amount of Rs.2400/- to the complainant,

ii)      To pay her a sum of Rs.2000/- as

          compensation and a sum of Rs.3000/- as

          litigation expenses.

 

 

The O.P. is further directed to comply with the above said directions, immediately, after receipt of the empty cylinder & regulator, from the complainant.

 

11.              The certified copies of this order be supplied to the parties forthwith, free of costs, as permissible under the rules and the file be indexed & consigned to the Record Room.

 

ANNOUNCED                                                                      (NEENA SANDHU)

Dated          17.02.2016                                                PRESIDENT

 

 

                                                (SHAVINDER KAUR)

                                                                     MEMBER.