- (1.) IN this civil first appeal filed under Section 96, C. P. C. , the appellant-Rajasthan State Electricity Board has challenged the judgment dated 26-10-1989 passed by the Addl. District Judge, rajsmand in Civil Original Case No. 12/ 1986, whereby, the learned trial Court decreed the suit filed by plaintiff-respondent and quashed the recovery of bill issued to the respondent by the appellants in the sum of Rs. 12,277. 08 ps. holding the same illegal and further restrained the appellants-defendants from disconnecting the electricity supply to the respondent-plaintiff industry. The trial Court further passed order that the defendant-department will be free to refer the matter to the Electrical Inspector under Section 16 (6) of the Indian Electricity Act and after decision of the Electrical inspector, in the event of such decision, the defendant-department will be free to send supplementary bill.
(2.) BRIEF facts of the case are that the suit was filed by the plaintiff-respondent Ram bhakta Hanuman Oil Industry before the trial Court, in which, it was stated that it is doing business of extracting oil of Ratanjot and, for that purpose, it has obtained electricity connection from the defendant-Board and plaintiff is regularly depositing the payments of bills issued by the defendant-department towards consumption of electricity by the plaintiff. In the plaint, it is further stated that on 10-3-1986, a bill was issued by the appellant-defendants in which Rs. 2,520. 60 ps. were shown as current electricity consumption and Rs. 12,277. 08 ps. were shown as outstanding amount. The total amount shown was Rs. 14,798. 68 ps.
(3.) AFTER receiving the aforesaid bill, the plaintiff went to the office of the appellant-department for clarification and made request that he is regularly depositing the payments of bills sent to him, whereupon, it was told by the appellants that the said amount is average charges. According to the respondent-plaintiff, he made request to reduce the bill or to correct the bill but it was denied by the defendant No. 3. Thereafter, he approached the higher officials of the department but they showed their inability and asked the plaintiff to make payment of the said bill. The plaintiff-respondent, however, deposited amount of Rs. 2,520/60 ps. towards current charges of electricity consumption and for the rest of the amount he made request that he may be heard personally before recovery of the said amount; but, the request was not acceded to and he was directed to deposit the complete amount otherwise his electricity connection would be disconnected.;