DOOR SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED Vs. KULWANT SINGH UPPAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal against the order dated 23.9.2004 passed by the District Forum, Udham Singh Nagar whereby a compensation of Rs. 3,000/ - was awarded to the complainant.

(2.) THE complainant is a lawyer. The telephone of the complainant remained out of order from 7.3.2003 to 2.4.2003. His grievance is not only that his telephone remained out of order and he suffered loss during that period but his main grievance is that he was not heard by the telephone department. A judicial notice of the fact can be taken that any person who has used a telephone will not like to live without a telephone even for a single moment, therefore, it cannot be said that the complainant did not make any complaint. The complainant says that he has made verbal complaint. Thereafter he called for the complaint register. It was not made available. Then he gave it in writing on 13.3.2003. Again he gave it in writing on 15.3.2003 to the Divisional Engineer and again on 17.3.2003, 22.3.2003, 25.3.2003 and 27.3.2003, he made complaints, where he was not heard. Then on 28.3.2003 he gave a legal notice, then his telephone was restored on 2.4.2003. It is not said that there was any arrear etc. against the complainant. It is not said that there was any disconnection. Everybody whose telephone has a fault is entitled to be attended and if it was not attended, there is deficiency in service of the telephone department and the learned Forum has rightly awarded the compensation.

(3.) HOWEVER , compensation of a sum of Rs. 3,000/ - is highly excessive. The complainant himself is a lawyer and while arguing on what basis he has calculated the compensation, he was unable to explain. Had he paid charges for user of the telephone, he could have hardly paid Rs. 300 -400/ - during this period. In the rules of the telephone department, one is entitled to rebate of rent, if his telephone remains out of order for certain stipulated period in the rules. This rebate of rent has also not been given to the complainant. In our view a compensation of Rs. 1,000/ -, although we have got no scale to measure it shall be appropriate compensation. The order under appeal is to be modified accordingly.