Power bill raised after six years quashed by PLA

Rajneesh Lakhanpal

Our Legal Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 22

The permanent lok adalat (PLA) has quashed the demand of Rs 2,51,440 raised by the PSPCL six years after providing an electric connection to a senior citizen, declaring the same to be illegal, null and void.

Pronouncing the verdict, PLA Chairman Sunil Arora, its members Ritu Singal and Amarjit Singh Sekhon held: “The respondents (PSPCL) for six long years had remained silent and no reason for such a deep slumber has been provided by them.”

The respondents have again failed to convince this forum if any action as per law was ever initiated against erring official who did not perform his duty of preparation of electricity bills from February 2011 till April 28, 2017, observed the PLA.

Even as per Section 57(2) of the Electricity Act, the respondents (PSPCL) were not entitled to claim arrears of electricity charges for more than two years.

The respondents have not proved that any sum which became first due was continuously shown as recoverable as arrears of charges for electricity supplied to the applicant, further remarked the lok adalat.

The orders were passed while deciding the complaint moved by Manmohan Singh, a senior citizen of Dhandra village, Ludhiana.

The complainant has submitted that in February 2011, he applied for issuance of an electricity connection. At that time, he submitted his SC certificate along with form A&A (Application and Agreement). The applicant as per rules was exempted from the billing of electricity up to 400 units per month being a consumer of the SC category.

The PSPCL authorities had denied the claims of the applicant that he applied under the SC category. It was submitted that due to some technical reasons, the bill could not be raised for six years.

After hearing the rival contentions, the PLA observed that under these circumstances, the production of form A&A thus assumes significance, which must have been in the possession of the PSPCL.

However, for the reasons best known to the respondents, the said form has not been placed on record. Thus it is the respondents who have failed to produce on record the main document which would have clinched the issue and consequently adverse inference has to be drawn against them.

However, if the respondents are able to locate form “A&A” and the applicant is not found to have applied for electricity connection claiming himself to be from the SC category or he had consumed electricity beyond permissible limit, the respondents would be at liberty to claim the charges of electricity consumed by the applicant from him in accordance with law, says the order.