S.D.O., HARYANA STATE BOARD vs Kala Devi

HARYANA State Electricity Board has come up in appeal against the order dated 19th November, 1996 passed by learned District Forum, Gurgaon, whereby the complaint of Smt. Kala Devi widow of Shri Virender Singh Yadav, Ex-Deputy Superintendent of Police, C.R.P.F. has been allowed and H.S.E.B. has been directed to release the electricity connection to the complainant expeditiously.

IN their reply, H.S.E.B. has pleaded that the electricity connection had not been applied for by the widow, but by her son Arvind and there was no priority for war-widows in the matter of electricity connection. Learned District Forum after going through the evidence produced by the parties found as a fact that H.S.E.B. had already realised a sum of Rs. 1,920/- from the complainant for the release of connection and it was thereupon that the complainant had also incurred lot of expense on the purchase of machinery etc., which was lying idle due to nonrelease of the electricity connection. Keeping in view the aforesaid factual position, the learned District Forum accepted the complaint and directed the H.S.E.B. to release the connection. In the appeal before us, learned Counsel for the appellant has vehemently contended that firstly the complainant was not a war-widow as there was no evidence on record that her husband died in the war. Secondly, the application for electricity connection was in the name of Shri Arvind Yadav son of the deceased and the widow and not by the widow herself. Thirdly, the name of the complainant stood at Serial No. 32 in the list whereas demand notice had been issued up to Serial No. 26. On the aforesaid premises, learned Counsel contends that H.S.E.B. should not have been directed to release the electricity connection forthwith. After hearing the learned Counsel for the appellant we do not find any merit in the contention as firstly the objections raised by the H.S.E.B. were wholly hypertechnical and secondly, they should have pleaded the same while contesting the complaint before the learned District Forum. Consequently, we do not find any merit in the appeal and the same is dismissed. The H.S.E.B. is directed to comply with the order of the learned District Forum and release the necessary connection within one month from the receipt of the copy of this order. Appeal dismissed.