TELECOM DISTRICT ENGINEER Vs. ASHOK KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The complainant/respondent had filed the complaint before the learned District Forum, Hamirpur, against the Telecommunication Department alleging excessive bill in respect of Telephone No.8213 installed in the residential premises in Village Lambloo.

(2.) The District Forum after having heard the matter has quashed the bill, in question, and directed the opposite party i. e. , appellant to investigate the matter in detail and not to claim any amount of money for the disputed bill till the detailed investigation is carried out and a copy of the report of investigation is made available to the complainant. In the meanwhile, the telephone of the complainant has been ordered to be restored.

(3.) Mr. Bimal Gupta, learned Counsel for the appellant vehemently submits that the District Forum should not have ordered the restoration of the telephone. If at all it had to be so ordered, that should have been made subject to the provisional payment to be made by the complainant to the appellant. We are unable to agree to the submission. The District Forum has at this stage quashed the bill and ordered for detailed investigation about the alleged excessive bill. Since the matter has to be investigated and it has yet to be determined whether the bill issued by the telephone authorities are correct or not, there is no question of ordering the complainant at this stage for payment on the provisional basis. However, after investigation, if it is found that the bill issued by the appellant is correct then in that situation the complainant is liable to pay the telephone bill issued by the appellant.