Consumer Complaint No 227 of 2015

Date of filing: 26.11.2015                                                              Date of disposal: 22.8.2016

Complainant:               Gangadhar Sain, S/o. Late Bijoy Chandra Sain, Village: Mithapur, Post Office: Gohagram, Police Station: Galsi, District: Burdwan.

-V E R S U S-

Opposite Party:    1.     West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd., Galsi Customer Care Centre, PO. & PS: Galsi, District: Burdwan, PIN – 713 406, represented by its Station Manager.

2.   West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd., having its Divisional Office at Burdwan Urban Division, Frazer Avenue, Power House, Burdwan, represented by its Divisional Manager.

Present:      Hon’ble President: Sri Asoke Kumar Mandal.

                        Hon’ble Member: Smt. Silpi Majumder.

           Hon’ble Member:  Sri Pankaj Kumar Sinha.

Appeared for the Complainant:            Ld. Advocate, Debdas Rudra.

Appeared for the Opposite Party (s):  Ld. Advocate, Biswanath Nag.

J U D G E M E N T

The complainant and his two brothers were in joint family in the same premises. In the month of December 2014 the two brothers began to live separately. After separation the two brothers got their new separate meters. The old meter remains with the complainant. After separation the complainant for the first time received an electric bill for the period from April 2015 to June 2015 amounting to Rs. 622. The consumption of the unit was 112 units where the previous reading was 4111 and the present reading was 4223 units. The complainant paid it in due time. Thereafter the complainant received another bill for the period from July 2015 to September 2015 amounting to Rs. 677 and the consumption of the unit was 127 where the previous reading was 4223 and the present reading was 4350 unit. The complainant paid it within due date. Thereafter the complainant received another bill dated 14.10.2015 amounting to Rs. 4500 for the period from October 2015 to December 2015 where it was shows the previous reading as 4350 units and the present reading was shown as 5088 units whereas during the noting down of the said meter reading it was told by the OP that the actual meter reading was 4478 units. In the said bill the OP made a comment that the relevant meter seems defective. Thereafter the complainant requested the OP-1 vide letter dated 28.10.2015 to reinvestigate the meter to ascertain whether the meter was defective or not and to regenerate the bill either as per actual meter reading or as per unit consumption of the previous bills. But till date the OP-1 did not take any appropriate steps to investigate the matter or to regenerate the bill. Hence the complainant is compelled to file before this District Forum to have relief for the removal of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice.

The Ops have contested the case by filing written version. The Ops in their written version stated that the service connection having Consumer ID No. 512082-21, Galsi, Burdwan, stands in the name of Gangadhar Sain of Mithapur, Burdwan and the said connection was effected for domestic purpose with contractual load of .06 KVA and since installation, energy bills all along have been claimed as per actual consumption and the complainant has paid those bills without any objection and subsequently on 02.10.2015 at the time of taking meter reading, the meter was found ‘seems defective”. Accordingly as per norms a system generated bill dated 14.10.2015 was raised considering previous trend of consumption as well as other parameters and the said bill is correct and justified. However, the case of the complainant cannot be adjudicated as in view of the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 and rulings reported in 2007 (8) SCC (381) if there is any grievance against any bill and its payment made thereof that should be ventilated before the Regulatory Commission or Person or Authority empowered by the said Act.

Decision with reasons:-

Perused the bills produced by the complainant in affidavit during adducing evidence for the period mentioned earlier i.e. from April to June, 2015, July to September, 2015 and October to December 2015 respectively. Since separation of family members the complainant has been enjoying the old meter and paid the bills as per demand of the Ops within the due dates. During taking the meter reading for the period from October, 2015 to December, 2015, the Ops conveyed that the meter seems defective and accordingly the Ops raised the bill amounting to Rs. 4,500=00 for the said period taking into consideration the previous trend of consumption. But the said bill does not tally with the previous trend of consumption which the Ops claim to appropriate and is quite insistent with the previous trend of billing. Secondly after filing of the consumer Complaint before this ld. Forum the Ops regenerated the bill where it is seen that the previous reading is 4350 units and the present reading is 4478 units i.e. having rectified the meter reading instead having not changed the meter as they claimed earlier as the meter is a defective one.

Upon perusal of the aforesaid bill it may be seen that the Ops have rectified and regenerated the bill in dispute i.e. for the period from October to December 2015 and accordingly regenerated the bill in dispute without changing the meter which they claimed defective as per their contention in their written version; it is evident that the meter was in running condition all along. This is clearly an unfair trade practice on the part of the Ops. Furthermore, the case referred by the Ops, mentioning that every grievance should be adjudicated by the Regulatory Commission does not oust the jurisdiction of the Consumer Forum to try the grievance of the consumers regarding disputes relating to electric bill, payment or other things. As Consumer Forum is an alternative machinery, the consumers can easily approach before this ld. Forum save and except the subject matters which the Hon’ble Supreme Court has specifically directed not to adjudicate the same. Moreover, in view of Section 3 of the C. P. Act, 1986  the provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force. As the Ops have not paid any heed to the complaint of the complainant, the complainant has been compelled to file this case before this ld. Forum. So he is entitled to get litigation cost. As there is evidence of clear trend of unfair trade practice by raising an inflated bill, the complainant is entitled to get compensation for his mental agony and harassment. Thus the complainant succeeds.

Fees paid is correct.

Hence, it is

O r d e r e d

that the complaint is allowed in part on contest with cost and the Ops are directed either jointly or severally to pay Rs. 500=00 as compensation for harassment and mental agony to the complainant  or the Ops may adjust the said amount with the subsequent bill amount and the Ops are further directed to pay Rs. 100=00 as litigation cost to the complainant either jointly or severally or the Ops are also at liberty to adjust the amount of Rs. 100=00 with the subsequent electric bills of the complainant, in default, the complainant is at liberty to put the case award in execution as per provisions of law.

            Let plain copies of this order be supplied to the parties free of cost as per provisions of law.

                   (Asoke Kumar Mandal)        

             Dictated and corrected by me.                                                  President      

                                                                                                          DCDRF, Burdwan

                    (Pankaj Kumar Sinha)

                            Member

                     DCDRF, Burdwan

                                                      (Silpi Majumder)                        (Pankaj Kumar Sinha)

                                                             Member                                             Member

                                                     DCDRF, Burdwan                            DCDRF, Burdwan