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Judgment
(1) The complainant/respondent applied to the petitioner for grant of a new electricity connection in his house in village - Bidira Ray Para Raniya, P.O. - Kamra, P.S - Nodakhali, Dist. - South 24 Pgs, West Bengal - 743318 and deposited a total sum of Rs.230/-. However, the electricity connection was not installed. Being aggrieved he approached the concerned District Forum by way of a Consumer Complaint.
(2) The complaint was resisted by the petitioner which inter alia stated in its reply that when its employees went for installation of the connection the neighbours of the complainant strongly resisted the proposed installation and as a result the connection could not be installed.
(3) The District Forum vide its order dated 03.02.2016 directed the petitioner to arrange new electricity connection in the house of the complainant alongwith cost of litigation quantified at Rs.2,000/-
(4) The Order passed by the District Forum was not challenged by the petitioner but the complainant/respondent being dissatisfied with the quantum of the compensation awarded to him approached the concerned State Commission by way of an appeal. Vide impugned order dated 02.03.2017, the State Commission allowed the appeal, and directed the petitioner to pay compensation at Rs.100/- per day from default from 25.03.2013 to 12.02.2016 when the connection was installed, thereby increasing the compensation to Rs.1,06,100/-.
Being aggrieved, the petitioner is before this Commission by way of this Revision Petition.
(5) The learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn my attention to regulation 46 (3.2.1) of W.B.E.R.C. Regulations which, as extracted in the revision petition, reads as under :
"3.2 Clearance required for new connection: 3.2.1 No new connection shall be given unless the following document(s) is/are submitted by the intending consumer with the application in the form given in Annnexure-A, completed in every respect, where applicable. (a) In-principle clearance for establishment from the Pollution Control Board concerned, wherever applicable (b) Document(s) of bonafide occupation or ownership of a premises, such as Passport/Voter Identity Card/Rent Bill/Rent Control Challan/Telephone Bill/Municipal or any other Tax Bill/any other document issued by any Ministry or Department of Government showing his occupancy in the premises etc. (c) Way leave permission in the specified format in Form -1."
It would thus be seen that one of the documents necessarily required for grant of a new connection was way leave permission. During the course of the hearing I asked the learned counsel for the complainant/respondent as to whether the requisite way leave permission had been obtained by the complainant and submitted to the petitioner. Having taken instructions, the learned counsel submits that the way leave permission was not obtained though he submits that no such permission was not required. He also submits that there was no such objection taken by the petitioner.
(6) In view of the statutory Regulation extracted herein above, I find no merit in the contention that the way leave permission was not required. It was mandatorily required before the connection could be installed. The requirement became more important in view of the neighbours of the complainants having put a tough resistance, when the employees of the petitioner went to install the connection. Moreover in the written version filed before the District Forum it was expressly pleaded by the petitioner that the way leave permission had not been taken by the complainant. In view of the statutory requirement contained in the Regulation, the petitioner cannot be said to be deficient in rendering service to the complainant by not installing the electricity connection. The said connection has since been installed on account of the directions given by the District Forum. The Order passed by the State Commission enhancing the compensation therefore was wholly unjustified and cannot be sustained. The Order passed by the State Commission is therefore set aside and the order passed by the District Forum is restored considering that no appeal against that order was preferred by the petitioner. The Revision Petition stands disposed of accordingly.
The amount if any deposited by the petitioner in compliance of the interim order passed by the District Forum be returned to the petitioner alongwith interest which may have accrued on that amount.