Haryana

Ambala

CC/67/2018

Ram Charan - Complainant(s)

Versus

UHBVNL - Opp.Party(s)

Sarnjeet Singh

09 Jul 2019

ORDER

BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, AMBALA.

 

                                                          Complaint case No.:  67 of 2018.

                                                          Date of Institution         :  27.02.2018.

                                                          Date of decision   :  09.07.2019.

 

Ram Charan s/o Shri Khairati Lal, aged about 66 years, resident of House No.89/4, Rampura Mohalla, Ambala City.

                                                                                       ……. Complainant.

 

1. Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd., through Executive Engineer, Operation Division UHBVN, Ambala City, Near Vita Milk Plant, Jasmeet Nagar, Ambala City.
2. SDO Operation, Sub-Division UHBVN, East, Ambala City, Badshahi Bagh Colony, Ambala City.
3. Suraj Kumar, Commercial Assistant Office of Sub-Division UHBVN, East, Ambala City, Badshahi Bagh Colony, Ambala City.

 

               ..…. Opposite Parties.

         

Before:        Smt. Neena Sandhu, President.

                   Smt. Ruby Sharma, Member.

Shri Vinod Kumar Sharma, Member.                 

                            

Present:       Shri Saravjeet Singh, Advocate, counsel for complainant.

Shri Chandeep Singh Bindra, Advocate, counsel for OPs.     

 

Order:        Smt. Neena Sandhu, President

Complainant has filed this complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) against the Opposite Parties (hereinafter referred to as ‘OPs’) praying for issuance of following directions to them:-

1. To recall the bill dated 29.06.2017.
2. To settle the account as per the actual reading being exhibited by the meter installed against the electricity connection of the complainant, without levying any surcharge and taking into consideration the payment made by him against the bill in question dated 29.06.2017.
3. To pay Rs.10,000/- as compensation on account of mental agony & physical harassment suffered by him.
4. To pay Rs.11,000/- as litigation expenses.
382.  

Any other relief which this Hon’ble Forum may deem fit.

 

Brief facts of the case are that the complainant is the owner of House No.89/4, Rampura Mohalla, Ambala City, wherein, an electricity connection bearing No.0443430000 of domestic supply category with sanctioned load of 2 KW, is installed in the name of his father. His father died on 04.12.1997, but the said electricity connection is still in his name. He is consuming the electricity being supplied by the OPs against the said connection and is regularly paying the bills. In the month of May 2017, he received a bill dated 10.05.2017 amounting Rs.916/- for the consumption of 197 units for the period from 15.02.2017 to 15.04.2017. Thereafter, he was shocked to receive a bill dated 29.06.2017, whereby, he was called upon to pay Rs.58,384.15 as charges for current cycle from 15.04.2017 to 16.04.2017 i.e. for one day. On receipt of said bill, he immediately contacted the OP No.2, who referred the matter to subordinate officials and they corrected the bill after getting the actual meter reading noted from the fields staff and directed him to deposit a sum of Rs.3,348/- as consumption charges of bills dated 29.05.2017 & 06.07.2017, which was duly deposited by him. Thereafter, when he did not receive any bill from the OPs for a long time, then in the first week of November 2017, he contacted the OP No.2 and got shocked to know that his electricity connection had been ordered to be disconnected vide Permanent Disconnection Order dated 22.03.2017. The OP No.2 also told him that the wrong bill dated 29.06.2017 served upon him, had also not been corrected in the record and the amount was still outstanding and that’s why his electricity connection was ordered to be disconnected. He raised the matter with OP No.2, who referred the same to OP No.3 for resolution, who had not resolved the matter and misbehaved with him. He lodged a complaint against the OPs before Chief Minister, Haryana, through CM Window, Ambala as well as before the Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, but nothing positive transpired. As on 22.02.2018, the meter installed against his electricity connection exhibited the reading as 13145 units. Hence, the new reading of 19124 units as shown in the bill dated 29.06.2017, is fictitious reading having no basis at all. Moreover, the complainant has already paid the electricity bills for the consumption of 11391 units of electricity. Now, he is liable to pay only 1754 units (13145 units – 11391 units). In the PDCO dated 22.03.2017, consumer name had been mentioned as Vinay Sharma, whereas, the account number mentioned therein, was of the complainant. By doing so, the OPs have committed deficiency in services. Hence, the present complaint.

2.                Upon notice, the OPs appeared through counsel and filed written version and have raised preliminary objections regarding locus-standi and cause of action. On merits, it is stated that another consumer namely Shri Vinay Sharma, who is having electricity connection bearing No.CT01-2541 and the complainant is having account No.CT01-1254. The said Vinay Sharma had committed a default in making the payment of electricity charges of Rs.58,354/-, as such, PDCO No.723/11 Sr. No.93 dated 22.03.2017 was issued, but inadvertently, the PDCO was entered in the system in the account No.CT01-1254 of complainant, instead of account No.CT01-2541, due to which, billing of electricity consumption of the complainant was stopped and arrears standing against the account No.CT01-2541 wrongly entered in the account against the electricity connection of the complainant. It is incorrect that after getting actual meter reading by the field staff, the official of the OPs corrected the bill and directed the complainant to deposit Rs.3348/- as alleged. The account of complainant has already been rectified by the official of OPs and the amount of Rs.60,101/- vide SCA No.18/48 with surcharge which was wrongly entered in the account of complainant, was removed/deducted and a new connection was issued to the complainant without taking any service charges and prayer has been made for dismissal of the present complaint.

3.                The ld. counsel for the complainant tendered affidavit of complainants as Annexure CA alongwith documents as Annexure C-1 to C-9 and closed the evidence on behalf of complainant. On the other hand, learned counsel for OPs tendered affidavit of Manish Kumar, SDO, Sub Division (East), UHBVNL, Ambala City as Annexure RA alongwith the documents Annexure R1 to Annexure R6 and closed the evidence on behalf of OPs.

4.                We have heard the learned counsel for parties and carefully gone through the case file.

5.                Admittedly, the complainant is consuming the electricity through electric connection bearing Account No.CT01-1254. This fact has been fairly admitted by the OPs that on 22.03.2017, inadvertently they issued the PDCPO against the account bearing No.CT01-1254 of the complainant instead of account No.CT01-2541, which was in the name of Shri Vinay Sharma, who had committed a default in making the electricity charges of Rs.58,354/-. On 26.03.2018, Shri Suraj Parkash, CA, SDO (OP) UHBVNL, Ambala City, has made a statement before this Forum that they will overhaul the account of the complainant and will refund the excess amount to the complainant in the next billing cycle. In para No.6 of the written version filed by the OPs, it is stated that an amount of Rs.60,101/- vide SCA No.18/48 with surcharge which was wrongly entered in the account of the complainant, was deducted and a new connection has been issued to the complainant without taking any service charges. The OPs have not disconnected the electric connection of the complainant. The ld. counsel for the OPs has submitted that since the OPs have already done the needful regarding the mistake done by them inadvertently, therefore, complaint filed by the complainant may be dismissed. To this effect, the ld. counsel for the complainant has argued that on 15.11.2017, the complainant lodged a complaint against the OPs, before the Chief Minister, Haryana (Annexure C5) and on 02.02.2018, before the Deputy Commissioner, Ambala (Annexure C-6) for redressal of his grievance, but the OPs did not resolve his grievance and he was forced to approach this Forum for redressal of his grievance. Due to the said mistake committed by the OPs, the complainant has suffered a lot of mental agony and physical harassment, therefore, he is entitled to get compensation on account of mental agony and physical harassment suffered by him and also litigation expenses. Had the OPs done the needful, when the complainant approached them for redressal of his grievance, then there was no occasion for him to file the present complaint. Since the OPs have resolved the grievance of the complainant after the filing of the present complaint, therefore, certainly he is entitled to get compensation on account of mental agony and physical harassment suffered by him alongwith litigation expenses.

6.                In view of the aforesaid discussion, we hereby partly allow the present complaint and direct the OPs in the following manner:-

1. To pay Rs.3,000/- as compensation for mental agony and physical harassment suffered by the complainant.
2. To pay Rs.2,000/- as litigation expenses.

 

                   The OPs are further directed to comply with the aforesaid directions within the period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the certified copy of this order, failing which, the awarded amount shall carry interest @ 9% per annum for the period of default. Certified copy of this order be supplied to the parties concerned, forthwith, free of cost as permissible under Rules. File be indexed and consigned to the Record Room.  

Announced on :09.07.2019.

 

 

          (Vinod Kumar Sharma)       (Ruby Sharma)                  (Neena Sandhu)

              Member                            Member                            President