JEEVAN ASHA Vs. PUNJAB UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A registered envelope bearing registration No. 881 dated 28.10.2005 is stated to have been sent by the complainant to the Registrar, Punjab University, U.G.C. Cell, Chandigarh. According to the complainant, this envelope contained application form for appearing in UGC test to be held on 31.12.2005. It was the requirement that the envelope containing the application form should be superscribed as "UGC National Eligibility Test for Junior Research Fellowship & Eligibility for Lecturership, December, 2005". It is not disputed that this was not so mentioned by the complainant on the envelope. The complainant further alleges that it was published in the newspaper 'Employment News dated September 17, 2005 that if any candidate did not receive his/her roll number, he/she should approach authorities two days earlier to the examination and may get Roll number to appear in the examination. Since her roll number had not been received, according to her, she went to the office of the Registrar, Punjab University, Chandigarh. It is the case of the complainant that she came to know that the registered letter had been delivered on 29.10.2005 in Chemical Engineering Department. The letter contained a completed form as also the requisite fee in the form of bank draft. Since she did not get the roll number she filed a complaint before the District Forum, which has been dismissed. Hence the present appeal.

(2.) It may be observed here that the following were arrayed as opposite parties in the complaint :

(3.) So far as the opposite party No. 1 is concerned, its stand before the District Forum was that the UGC Cell, to whom the application should have been sent, never received the application of the complainant and, therefore, the question of any deficiency of service on its part did not arise. It also took up the stand that the complainant was not a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act. The stand of the Postal Authorities was that the envelope, in question, was received by Post Office, Punjab University, Chandigarh, for the first time on 31.10.2005, 1st November, 2005 was Diwali. The office of the Punjab University was closed on 1.11.2005, 2.11.2005 and again from 4.11.2005 to 6.11.2005. The registered letter, which was addressed to the Registrar, Punjab University was delivered in that office by the Postal Authorities on 8.11.2005. So far as the non-delivery of the letter on 3.11.2005 or 7.11.2005 is concerned, it was further mentioned in the written statement as under :