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Judgment
IT is obvious that the order dated 1.10.1994 of the Nizamabad District Forum in IA. No. 253/1994 in CD. No. 264/1993 purporting to be under Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (''the Act'' for short), was beyond its jurisdiction. The operative portion of the order of the District Forum in CD. No. 264/1993 dated 8.6.1994 is as follows : "Considering the evidence of PWs. 1 and 2 and the hours of consumption and the lights and fans consumed fairly 20 units a month can be arrived at. We arrived the same accordingly and direct the opposite parties to calculate the same up to disconnection for 23 months and charged and the complainant is directed to pay the arrears within a period of 1 month and so soon the payment was made, the opposite parties are directed to restore the connection i.e., on payment of re-connection charges also. In the result, the complaint is allowed accordingly but in the circumstances no costs."
As this was not complied with the complainant Smt. Gadde Pramila preferred IA. No. 253/1994 under Section 27 of the Act. The amount for 23 months was calculated and the total was arrived at as Rs. 767/- including re-connection charges. The 23 months'' period was from 8/1991 to 6/ 1993. As to how the amount had to be calculated for the subsequent months was not stated in the order of the District Forum in the C.D. That order had become final as no appeal was preferred by the opposite parties against it. However in the LA. the District Forum held that minimum charges at the rate of Rs. 35/- per month could not be collected from 7/1993 to 3/94 i.e., the period after the expiry of 23 months. We are of the view that the District Forum had no jurisdiction to enquire into some thing which was not the subject matter of the order in CD No. 264/1993. The District Forum also erroneously took the view that the opposite parties (who are the petitioners in this R.P.) had no power to collect the minimum charges from the period when the service connection was under disconnection. This is no longer res integra as the question had been set at rest by the decision of the Apex Court in Bihar State Electricity Board v. Green Rubber Industries, holding that the liability to pay the minimum guaranteed charges continued till the determination of the contract and that during the currency of the contract the minimum guaranteed charges would be payable by the consumer irrespective of whether the energy to that extent had been ''consumed or not in view of the terms and conditions of supply of energy to the consumer. This was reiterated by the Supreme Court in Orissa State Electricity Board v. Orissa Tiles Ltd. In the present case also the opposite parties relied on the terms and conditions of supply of energy for demanding payment of minimum charges.
WE find that the order of the District Forum is illegal and is therefore set aside. The R.P. is accordingly allowed. No costs. Order set aside.