TELEGRAPH TELEPHONE Vs. SUDHIR KUMAR MEHTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Department of Tele-communication appeals against the order of the District Forum, Kaithal partly allowing the complaint preferred by the respondent.

(2.) It suffices to mention that the respondent-complainant was aggrieved by as many as six bills for telephonic charges betwixt the period of July, 1991 to March, 1993. It was the case that the telephone was used for purely private and domestic purposes and the excessive charges, therefor were apparently manipulated due to the mis-conduct of the employees of the respondent-department. The plea was that for a substantial period, the telephone had remained out of order and no outside calls were made. It was highlighted that the appellant-department had itself granted a rebate in respect of some of the impugned bills without specifying the mode or manner of doing so.

(3.) The appellant-department in opposing the complaint took up the routine plea that the consumer enjoyed the S. T. D. facility and the bills were issued on the basis of the actual consumption recorded on the metering equipment. It was conceded that substantial rebate in some of the bills had been granted, whilst the same had been rejected qua the other. It was pleaded that the past pattern of consumption had no relevance to the issue.