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Judgment
THE complainant has alleged excess billing on his telephone No. 28827 at his residential premises. THE District Forum accepted his claim and ordered that for one bill he was liable to pay Rs. 6,402/- and for the second bill only a sum of Rs. 2,402/-. It also ordered refund of Rs. 34,232/- in its judgment dated 25.7.95. Aggrieved against it, the present appeal has been attempted.
BRIEFLY the facts alleged are that the complainant is a subscriber to telephone No. 28827 installed at his premises in Chandigarh and the bills dated 11.12.90 for Rs. 26,399/-, dated 21.1.91 for Rs. 14,539/-, dated 21.3.91 for Rs. 15.922/- and the bill dated 21.5.91 for Rs. 23,236/- were excessive. It has been also alleged that he also suffered mental torture and besides rectification of the aforesaid bills, he also claimed compensation to the tune of Rs. 25.000/-. On behalf of the respondent, it has been averred that after having received complaint of excess billing about 20,000 local calls were kept under dispute''. However, no fault was detected during the tests. In the memorandum of appeal, there is also a plea that earlier this complainant instituted Complaint No. 290 in 1991 against his bill dated 21.3.91 for the sum of Rs. 15,922/-, but it was dismissed on 26.11.91 for want of prosecution. Once his complaint was dismissed, the claim pertaining to Rs. 15,922/- could not be reconsidered here.
There is no dispute that there was no STD facility on this telephone. The learned District Forum rightly observed that in the absence of STD facility, too large number of local calls on this telephone remained unexplained on the part of the department - now appellant. Here considerable stress has been given to the fact that an earlier complaint for the bill dated 21.3.91 for Rs. 15,922/- instituted on 27.4.91 was dismissed on 26.11.91 for non-prosecution when it was in reality fixed for evidence. The learned Counsel for the respondent could not answer as to how a second complaint could be maintainable for the old bill of Rs. 15.922/-, complaint regarding which was dismissed, as seen above.
AS regards the other two bills, the reduction ordered and worked out at Rs. 6,402/- in respect of the bill for Rs. 26,399/- and Rs. 2,402/- in respect of the bill for Rs. 14,539/-. No modification or enhancement is called for especially when the telephone was wholly without STD which is an admitted fact. The conclusion is that except for the modification made in respect of the bill for Rs. 15,922/- regarding which Complaint No. 290/91 was dismissed and no appeal was attempted against it, the order of the District Forum is affirmed. The refund in respect of the bills other than the one dated 21.3.91 for Rs. 15,922/- shall be made to the respondent within a period of 60 days after the announcement of this judgment either in cash or by usual adjustment against the pending bills, if any, of the subscriber. Announced. Copies of order be sent to the parties free of charges. Except for modification/Order affirmed.