HARDEV SINGH vs GENERAL MANAGER TELEPHONE

THE District Forum, Ludhiana on February 13, 1998 partly allowed the complaint filed by Hardev Singh against the Telephone Department with the direction to the Telephone Department to grant rent rebate for the period August 28 to September 9, 1997 for which period telephone of the complainant remained out of order. THE aforesaid amount of rebate was ordered to be adjusted in the subsequent bills to be issued.

THE complainant seeks relief of grant of such rebate for the period August 28 to September 12, 1997 for which period his telephone remained out of order and as per instructions of the Telephone Department rental rebate should have been for a period of one month. Telephone No. 664918 was installed at the premises of Hardev Singh, complainant. It remained out of order from August 28, 1997 that he claimed compensation of Rs. 3,000/- on account of inconvenience and mental torture suffered as the telephone was not set right. In the reply filed by the Telephone Department, it was stated that the rent rebate has already been given to the complainant for the period August 28 to September 9, 1997. On receiving the complaint, the fault was set right and was stated to be satisfactorily working. On the evidence produced, the impugned order was passed.

Copy of the Fault Card was produced on the file of the District Forum which is Annexure R-1. On August 28, 1997, complaint was lodged which was stated to have been attended to on September 9, 1997 at 16.20 hours. The next complaint was lodged on September 9, 1997 at 00.49 hours which was finally attended on September 12, 1997 at 15.51 hours. Thus, it would seem that for all practical purposes the telephone of the complainant remained out of order from August 26 to September 12, 1997. Since the aforesaid period is more than 14 days, as per instructions of the Telephone Department as contained in Letter No. 2-29/89-PHA dated November 27, 1992, the complainant was entitled to rent rebate for the full month. Para 2 of such instructions read as under : "The question of granting further concessions for prolonged interruption of local telephone service was examined and it has been decided that in addition to the existing concessions in rebate, as contained in this Office Letter of even number, dated 25.6.1990, if the local telephone services remain suspended/interrupted continuously for more than 14 days due to departmental reasons, full month''s rental be waived on the Department''s own initiative without waiting for the representation/request from the subscriber."

THE complainant, therefore, in view of the instructions referred to above is entitled to rent rebate for a period of one month as telephone remained out of order for more than 14 days. To that extent, the order of the Distict Forum requires modification. Representative of the complainant has further argued that the complainant should be compensated for non-use of the telephone for the aforesaid period. In our view, compensation under Section 14(1)(d) could be granted on proof of actual loss as suffered by the complainant on account of alleged negligent act of the opposite party. The complainant has not produced any specific evidence in this respect. It is in these circumstances that the representative of the complainant has requested for determining compensation on estimation. The complainant is stated to be a property dealer and must have been using his telephone for that purpose. Likewise his clients must have been approaching him through the telephone. A sum of Rs. 1,500/- is considered just compensation in the circumstances of the case to be payable to the complainant by the Telephone Department for the lapse referred to above.

FOR the reasons recorded above, this complaint is allowed. The order of the District FORum is modified. A direction is given to the Telephone Department to grant rebate in the rental for a period of one month and to pay compensation of Rs. 1,500/- alongwith cost of litigation of Rs. 500/- to the complainant. The amount be adjusted in the subsequent telephone bills to be issued by the Telephone Department within one month of receipt of copy of this order. Appeal allowed with costs.