UNION OF INDIA Vs. S PRAKASH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE three writ petitions have been filed by the Union of India and by the Chief General Manager, Tele-Communication challenging the order passed by the District Consumers Disputes Redressar Forum, district Lucknow on the ground that Section 3 of Consumers Protection Act (herein-after referred to as the C. P. Act) does not apply to the department of Tele-communication and cannot award compensation to the subscriber and as such the order passed by the Forum is without jurisdiction and further the subscriber will not be a consumer as defined under Section 2 of the C. P. Act and as such no complaint of such a subscriber could be entertained and damages could be awarded and the dispute so raised by the subscriber could be covered by Section 7-B of Indian Telegraph Act (herein after referred to I. T. Act) which provides for a reference of dispute to the arbitrator. The complaint made by the subscriber before the consumer. Forum against tele-communication department was that the telephonic serviced are very unsatisfactory and telephones mostly remain out order and the subscribers are suffering great loss and even though the telephones remain out of order yet the subscribers are saddled with a huge bill. The Consumers Forum to whom the complaint was made, allowed the complaint and directed the Tele-communication department to pay damages to them against which the Union of India has directly come up before this court without filing any appeal.

(2.) ON behalf of opposite parties a preliminary objection has been raised that in view of provisions of Section 15 of C. P. Act, 1986 an appeal against the order passed by District Consumers Forum lies to the State Commission and no appeal having been filed, the writ petition is not entertain able and is liable to be dismissed on the ground of availability of alternative remedy.

(3.) SECTION 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act provides that the Central Government shall have the exclusive privilege of establishing, maintaining and working telegraphs and also to grant licence. This section makes is clear that establishment, maintenance and work of the Telegraph is in the hands of the Central Government which has got exclusive privilege in respect' of the same.