KATAKAM BHASKARA RAO Vs. REPAKULA SHIVALINGAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The order of the Khammam District Forum in O. P. No.624/1995 dated 9.12.1998 is questioned by the third opposite party in that O. P. The complainant is the first respondent and first and second opposite parties are the second and third respondents in the appeal. The respondents were served. The complainant is present in person and made submissions himself. The learned Government Pleader represented the second and third respondents. Heard both sides. We have the record of the District Forum before us.

(2.) The complaint is made by an M. P. T. C. Member of Thettalapahad in Thirumalayapalem Mandal, Khammam District. He stated in the complaint that the appellant had permit to run his bus from Khammam to Palair via Thirumalayapalem, Thallachervu, Pocharam, Choutapally. The case of the complainant was that though the appellant was having permit to run the bus from Khammam upto Palair, he was not going upto Palair but was plying it only upto Thallachervu village. The other complaint was that the bus did not have minimum facilities and that separate seats for women were not provided in it and that the seats provided were also not good. He also complained that the bus was being run at very high speed causing apprehension to the passengers and it was also being involved in accidents frequently because of that. Alongwith the complaint, the complainant filed sheets of paper containing signatures of several persons. There was no reference to those signatures in the complaint and he did not explain whose those signatures were and why they were filed.

(3.) The first and second opposite parties were represented by the Government Pleader but they did not file version/counter. The appellant filed a counter stating that the complainant was harassing him and demanded free rides in the bus and was also threatening the conductor and demanding payments. He also stated that at the relevant time the route from Thallachervu to Palair was not good and therefore, he was not plying upto Palair and that even the Road Transport Corporation Buses were not being run upto Palair because of that. He also submitted that the signatures were obtained from various persons by the complainant stating that he would provide loan facilities and ration cards etc. , and making other promises.