Haryana

Karnal

CC/539/2019

Versa - Complainant(s)

Versus

Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited - Opp.Party(s)

Jitender Veer Singh

16 Nov 2022

ORDER

BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, KARNAL.

 

                                                        Complaint No. 539 of 2019

                                                        Date of instt.21.08.2019

                                                        Date of Decision:16.11.2022

 

1.     Versa wife of Shri Sandeep, resident of Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar,

        Phoosgarh road, Karnal.

 

2.     Sanjay Kumar son of Shri Arjan Singh, resident of Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar, Phoosgarh road, Karnal.

                                               …….Complainants.

                                              Versus

 

1.     Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. Sub Divisional L-13, Sub Urban Division City, Karnal through its Sub Divisional Officer.

 

2.     Sanjay Kumar, resident of house no.5, Gali no.3, Vikas Nagar, Karnal.

                                                                      …..Opposite Parties.

 

Complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as amended under Section 35 of Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

 

Before   Sh. Jaswant Singh……President.       

      Sh. Vineet Kaushik…….Member

      Dr. Rekha Chaudhary……Member

          

 Argued by: Shri Jitender Veer, counsel for the complainant.

                    Shri Amit Munjal counsel for the OP no.1.

                    Shri Rajbir Sharma, counsel for the OP no.2.

 

                    (Jaswant Singh President)

ORDER:   

                

                The complainant has filed the present complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as after amendment under Section 35 of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 against the opposite parties (hereinafter referred to as ‘OPs’) on the averments that complainant is a resident of Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar, Karnal-132001 and there is a electricity connection in the said house in the name of complainant’s brother-in-law namely Sanjay Kumar son of Arjun Singh having account no.4795120000 and old account no.2131504USD274 927 & K no.L13SD274927 whereas the other Sanjay Kumar i.e. OP no.2 was also having electricity supply for his house and account no.5630910000 old account no.2131504USD274946 but due to deficiency in service on the part of the official of OP no.1 the bills of account of OP no.2 used to be supplied for depositing in his account and in this way the payments of the bills have been made regularly by the brother-in-law of complainant. It is further averred that the employee of the OP no.1 has also written the account no.274946 of OP no.2 on the meter box where from the supply of the electricity was supplied to the house of the complainant and accordingly bills were also given at the premises of the said account and that the payment of bills were made by the complainant. On 26.12.2018 the complainant no.1 applied for change of name of the said connection online and paid the requisite fee of Rs.150/- and payment receipt no.PUR 27038708836 was issued in her favour and as such the complainant is the consumer and consequently a bill no.563098125773 of Rs.7752-00 was issued to the complainant. After issuance of said bill the complainant was not allowed to deposit the bill and instead asked to deposit the bill issued in the name of one Sanjeev Kumar r/o Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar, Karnal whose account number has been shown as 4795120000 and further submitted that due to negligency and connivance of the meter reader with OP no.2 previous bills were given to brother-in-law Sanjay’s residence and thus payments were entered in the wrong account of other Sanjay i.e. OP no.2 and it could be corrected only after the court order. Complainant has approached the OP no.1 to rectify the mistake but all in vain rather the OP no.1 became adamant and threatened to disconnect the supply of electricity to her house. Complainant requested the OP no.1 to redress their grievance by calling the OP no.2 and either adjust the payments made by complainants against the alleged account no.4795120000, bill no.479515053010 dated 26.04.2019 or to refund the amount paid by them but OP no.1 refused to do so, rather threatened the complainant that in case the complainant does not deposit the amount of abovesaid bill then in that eventuality her electricity connection shall be disconnected whereas the complainant is ready to deposit the bill of her meter w.e.f. 26.12.2018 i.e. after change of meter in her name.  Hence complainant filed the present complaint seeking direction to the OP no.1 be restrained from disconnecting the electricity connection under account no.479512000 and this account number be changed in the name of complainant, to pay Rs.15000/- as compensation on account of mental agony and pain and to pay Rs.5500/- as litigation expenses.

2.             On notice, OP no.1 appeared and filed its written version raising preliminary objections with regard to maintainability; locus standi; cause of action; jurisdiction and concealment of true and material facts. On merits, it is pleaded that the amount in question is actually due and recoverable from the complainant/user and the OP has been adopting due and legal procedure for the recovery of the amount in question. The complainant is trying to take benefit of her own wrongs and adopting clever calculative move to escape from her liability. As a matter of fact a connection no.4795120000 old account no.SD27-4927 is running in the name of Sanjay Kumar son of Arjun Kumar resident of Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar, Karnal (wrongly recorded as Sanjeev Kumar in place of Sanjay Kumar). Complainant alongwith Rukmani wife of Devender Kumar purchased house from the said Sanjay Kumar son of Arjun Singh (complainant no.2 being GPA of owner). Now instead of changing the name of connection no.4795120000 complainant moved an application for change of name of connection no.563091000 without any right title or interest. It is further pleaded that complainant is not the consumer of the OP. The complainant just applied for a change of name of electricity connection. So, it is clear that the complainant remained in the capacity of applicant only and the complainant cannot be termed as a “consumer” of the OP in any way or manner. It is further pleaded that the employee of the OP no.1 written the account no.SD274946 of OP no.2 where from the supply of electricity was supplied to the house of complainant. It is further pleaded that the house of complainant is situated at Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar and meter is single phase installed on the boundary wall of complainant on the other side account no.SD274946 is installed near Vijeta Public School Vikas Nagar, Phoosgarh, Karnal and the same is 3 phase meter and far from each other. It is further pleaded that complainant moved the application for change of name of connection no.5630910000 wrongly without any right title or interest an belongs to OP no.2. Complainant is trying to take benefit of her own wrongs. When complainant no.2 is holder and using the connection no.4795120000 then how can be given the right to complainant no.1 for change the name of connection belonging to OP no.2. Every bill contained vital information about connection and reading of consumed units previous payment etc. But complainant is alleging to deposit the bills of OP no.2 with closed eyes and ignoring units consumed/reading in meter. It is further pleaded that OP no.2 has no concern with account no.479512000. A huge outstanding amount is due against the said connection. It is denied that OP no.1 has issued the wrong bill to the brother-in-law of complainant. The bill in question has been rightly issued as per consumption of account no.SD27-4927 (4795120000) which is installed as per reading but consumer is not paying the same and now to avoid liability file the present complaint. There is no deficiency in service on the part of the OPs. The other allegations made in the complaint have been denied and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

3.             OP no.2 filed his separate written version raising preliminary objections with regard to maintainability; locus standi and concealment of true and material facts. On merits, it is pleaded that in the year 2014, OP no.2 has obtained electricity connection for his house no.5, Gali no.1, Vikas Nagar, Phoosgarh Road, Karnal bearing account no.2131504USD274946 (old account) new account no.5630910000 (new account) from the OP no.1, since then OP no.2 is regularly paying the electricity charges to the OP no.1 as per the consumption. OP no.2 has paid the electricity charges through wallet as well as Net banking and cash etc. The said house was in the name of Smt. Suman wife of OP no.2. Thereafter, OP no.2 and his wife has sold the aforesaid house vide sale deed no.993 dated 08.05.2018 to Smt. Anita Rani and possession of the said house including the aforesaid electricity connection has been handed over to said Smt. Anita Rani. At the time of selling the said house, OP no.2 has cleared all the electricity bills as per actual consumption of electricity. The new owner of the said house is also paying the electricity charges of the aforesaid connection regularly. It is further pleaded that OP has sold his aforesaid house vide sale deed no.993 dated 08.05.2018 and he had paid all the bills of his aforesaid electricity charges and as per knowledge of the OP no.2, the new owner is also paying the bill regularly. There is no deficiency in service on the part of the OP. The other allegations made in the complaint have been denied and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

4.             Parties then led their respective evidence.

5.             Learned counsel for the complainant has tendered into evidence affidavit of Sanjay Kumar Ex.CW1/A, electricity bills Ex.C1 to Ex.C7, copy of application dated 26.12.2018 Ex.C8, copy of electricity bill of account no.563091000 Ex.C9, copy of application dated 25.04.2019 by Sanjay Kumar to OP Ex.C10, copies of electricity bills and receipt Ex.C11 to Ex.C23, certificate dated 10.03.2021 given by A.G. Enterprises Ex.C24 and closed the evidence on 12.03.2022 by suffering separate statement.

6.             On the other hand, learned counsel for the OP no.1 has tendered into evidence affidavit of Shivam Bhagri SDO Ex.OP1/A, detail of new connection date Ex.OP1, copy of connection file of complainant Ex.OP2, copy of connection file of Sanjay Kumar Ex.OP3, copies of bills and ledger Ex.OP4 to Ex.OP17, copy of photographs of meter Ex.OP18 to Ex.OP23 and closed the evidence on 10.03.2022 by suffering separate statement.

7.             OP no.2 has tendered into evidence his affidavit Ex.OP2/A, copy of sale deed Ex.OP2/1, copies of bills receipt Ex.OP2/2 to Ex.OP2/20 and closed the evidence on 11.04.2022 by suffering separate statement.

8.             We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the record available on the file carefully.

9.             Learned counsel for the complainant, while reiterating the contents of complaint, has vehemently argued that complainant is a resident of Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar, Karnal-132001 and there is a electricity connection in the name of complainant’s brother-in-law namely Sanjay Kumar. The employee of the OP no.1 has also written the account no.274946 of OP no.2 on the meter box wherefrom the supply of the electricity was supplied to the house of the complainant. On 26.12.2018 the complainant no.1 applied for change of name of the said connection online and paid the requisite fee of Rs.150/- and payment receipt was issued and consequently a bill of Rs.7752-00 was issued to the complainant. After issuance of said bill the complainant was not allowed to deposit the bill and instead was asked to deposit the bill issued in the name of one Sanjeev Kumar r/o Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar, Karnal whose account number has been shown as 4795120000 and further submitted that due to negligency and connivance of the meter reader with OP no.2 previous bills were given to brother-in-law Sanjay’s residence and thus payments were entered in the wrong account of other Sanjay i.e. OP no.2 and it could be corrected only after the court order. Complainant has approached the OP no.1 to rectify the mistake but all in vain and threatened to disconnect the supply of electricity to her house. Complainant requested the OP no.1 to redress their grievance by calling the OP no.2 and either adjust the payments made by complainants against the alleged account no.4795120000,  or to refund the amount paid by them but OP no.1 refused to do so and prayed for allowing the complaint.

10.           Per contra, learned counsel for OP no.1, while reiterating the contents of written version, has vehemently argued that a connection no.4795120000 old account no.SD27-4927 is running in the name of Sanjay Kumar. Complainant alongwith one Rukmani purchased house from the said Sanjay Kumar. Now instead of changing the name of connection no.4795120000 complainant moved an application for change of name of connection no.563091000. The complainant just applied for a change of name of electricity connection. The employee of the OP no.1 has written the account no.SD274946 of OP no.2 where from the supply of electricity was supplied to the house of complainant. The house of complainant is situated at Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar and meter is single phase installed on the boundary wall of complainant on the other side account no.SD274946 is installed near Vijeta Public School Vikas Nagar, Phoosgarh, Karnal and the same is 3 phase meter and far from each other. Complainant no.2 is holder and using the connection no.4795120000 then how can be given the right to complainant no.1 for change the name of connection belonging to OP no.2. OP no.2 has no concern with account no.479512000. A huge outstanding amount is due against the said connection and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

11.           Learned counsel for OP no.2, while reiterating the contents of written version, has vehemently argued that in the year 2014, OP no.2 has obtained electricity connection for his house from the OP no.1, since then OP no.2 was regularly paying the electricity charges to the OP no.1 as per the consumption. OP no.2 and his wife sold the aforesaid to Smt. Anita Rani and possession of the said house including the aforesaid electricity connection has been handed over to said Smt. Anita Rani. At the time of selling the said house, OP no.2 has cleared all the electricity bills as per actual consumption of electricity. The new owner of the said house is also paying the electricity charges of the aforesaid connection regularly and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

12.           Admittedly, complainants are residents of Gali no.7, Vikas Nagar, Karnal. The electricity connection is installed in the said house in the name of complainant no.2 i.e. Sanjay Kumar. Account of said electricity meter was 4795120000 and old number 2131504USD274 927 & K no.L13SD274927. It is also admitted that another Sanjay OP no.2 also residing in the locality. As per version of the complainants they have been paying the electricity bill since 2014 and in the year 2018 when the complainant no.1 applied for transfer of connection in her name and same was changed by the OP no.1 and consequently bill of Rs.7752/- was issued and same was paid by the complainants. After that OP no.1 asked the complainants to deposit the bill issued in name of OP no.2 while the complainants have already paid all the electricity bills issued by the OP no.1.

13.           The onus to prove their versions lies upon the complainants. To prove their version complainants have placed on file original electricity bills Ex.C1 to Ex.C7 from the year of 2014 to 2018. All the original electricity bills are in the custody of complainants. Meaning, thereby, the OP no.1 has sent the said bills to the complainants and complainants have paid the same. It is also evident from the bills receipts Ex.C12 to Ex.C21, the complainant has been regularly paying the electricity bills. Therefore, the complainants are not at fault. The disputed bills were supplied by the OPs to the complainant and complainant has paid all the bills regularly. Complainant cannot be blamed for the wrong act of the employees of the OPs.

14.           As per version of the OP no.2, he has paid his electricity charges to OP no.1 regularly as per consumption. He had paid the electricity charges through wallet as well as net banking and cash. The house of the OP was in the name of his wife Suman. The said house has been sold to Smt. Anita on 18.05.2018 and at that time OP no.2 has cleared all the bills issued by the OP no.1. To prove his version he has placed on file, copy of sale deed Ex.OP2/1 dated 08.05.2018 and copies of bills receipts Ex.OP2/2 to Ex.OP2/20. On perusal of abovesaid bills receipts, it pertains for the period 20.06.2016 to 12.11.2019. Same receipts also placed on file by the complainants as Ex.C12 to Ex.C21.

15.           As the OP no.2 has sold out the house to Anita on dated 18.05.2018 and question for paying the electricity bills after 18.05.2018 does not arise at all, but OP no.2 has placed on file receipts upto 2019. Prints of the said receipts have been taken out on 09.01.2020. Meaning, thereby, prints of the said receipts has been taken by the OP no.2 just to escape his liability. Complainant has placed on file copy of original bills for which he has paid regularly on behalf of OP no.2, on the wrong act committed by the employee of OP no.1. It has been proved on record that the abovesaid bills have been paid by the complainant not by the OP no.2. OP no.1 has wrongly supplied/handover the electricity bills to the complainant which infact relates to OP no.2. Hence the act of OP no.1 amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. Complainant has also sought for relief for adjustment the amount paid by her in the account of OP no.2, for the period of 2013 to 2018.

16.           Thus, as a sequel to abovesaid discussion, we allow the present complaint and direct the OP no.1 not to disconnect the electricity connection no.4795120000 belonging to the complainants and adjust the payments made by complainants in the account of OP no.2. We further direct the OP no.1 to pay Rs.10,000/- to the complainant on account of mental agony and harassment suffered by her and Rs.5500/- for the litigation expense. This order shall be complied within 45 days from the receipt of copy of this order. The parties concerned be communicated of the order accordingly and the file be consigned to the record room after due compliance.

Announced

Dated:16.11.2022

                                                                       

                                                                  President,

                                                     District Consumer Disputes

                                                     Redressal Commission, Karnal.

 

 

 

(Vineet Kaushik)        (Dr. Rekha Chaudhary)

                          Member                      Member

Sushma

Stenographer