SHIV GRINDING INDUSTRIES vs EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (OP) H.S.E.B, REWARI

THIS appeal is directed against the order of the District Forum dismissing the complaint preferred by the appellant.

M/s Shiv Grinding Industries had alleged in their complaint that they had obtained an electric connection for their factory premises at village Kund and they had been paying the charges therefore regularly. However, in the bill pertaining to October,1992 an amount of Rs. 8297/- had been added in their bill which was assailed as illegal and unjust. On notice being issued, the respondent-department took up the firm plea that the meter of the appellant was defective and had later got burnt and consequently was not showing the correct consumption. This had therefore, to be replaced on the 11th of July, 1992 with a correct and tested meter supplied by the appellants themselves. This meter indicated a consumption of 7600 units in the month of August, 1992, 6160 units in the month of September, 1992 and 6320 units in the month of October, 1992. However, prior to the replacement in the month of June the defective meter had shown the consumption of only 1314 units which was patently incorrect and consequently the bill for the said month was prepared on the basis of the average consumption of the aforesaid month.

The District Forum on the basis of the materials before it found that the appellants had themselves willingly made the payment for the bills of August, September and October after the defective meter had been replaced. Consequently the correct of the bill by the department for the month of June on the basis of the average there from was upheld and the complaint dismissed.

MR. Bhagwan Goel, learned Counsel for the appellant despite his persistence was somewhat off the mark in projecting the appeal. It was first argued that the checking report made by the Chandigarh party dated the 2nd of June, 1992 fully supported the case of the appellants. The submission aforsaid has only to be noticed and rejected. Even the closest perusal of the said report does not indicate how the same in any way aids or advances the case of the appellant. Even when asked to further elaborate the matter Mr. Bhagwan Goel was however unable to pin-point anything therein in material support of the appellant''s case.

IN fairness to the learned Counsel for the appellant we would notice that he attempted to rely upon certain documents which were completely divorced from the record. Reliance was sought to be placed on certain papers which Mr. Goel produced from his own file. Obviously these could not be taken notice of in the appellate jurisdiction. Not the least ground was made out as to why the said documents if they were relevant, were not produced before the District Forum. Lastly, a vain attempt was made by Mr. Goel to get entangled in the intricacies of the consumption of the appellant''s factory during the earlier period. A grievance was made that the department had not specified the exact date on which the meter was found to be defective or totally burnt. The aforesaid submission is also wholly devoid of merit. It is not the case that the grinding factory of the appellants was at any time wholly closed or not using the electric power. However, the consumption data placed on record which was not under challenge indicated that during the month of March, April and May, the units consumed were at the marginal level of only 204, 232 and 263 respectively. It is somewhat manifest that in the context of an industrial unit a consumption of this nature would prima-facie indicate a defective metering. Mr. Goel was wholly unable to explain this incidence. Once it is held that the meter was defective, it necessarily follows that the respondent-department under the relevant instructions was entitled to resort to the average of the subsequent consumption for correcting the earlier bills.

FOR the foregoing reasons, the present appeal must fail and is hereby dismissed. However, we decline to burden the consumer-appellant with any costs. Appeal dismissed.