Md Nader Lai v. Station Manager Of Wbsedcl And Others

AD. 26.

May 12, 2022.

MNS.

WPA No. 7211 of 2022 Md. Nader Ali Vs.

Station Manager of WBSEDCL and others Ms. Priya Ghosal ...for the petitioner.

Mr. Srijan Nayak, Mrs. Rituparna Maitra ...for the WBSEDCL.

The limited dispute raised in the writ petition is that the petitioner controverts an amount billed as electricity charges by the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (in short WBSEDCL).

Learned counsel appearing for the WBSEDCL submits that the Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO) is the appropriate authority for deciding the issue. Moreover, it is submitted that a dispute is pending before the District Consumer Redressal Forum on the same ground, being Case No. 57 of 2021 pending before the District Forum at Malda.

Be that as it may, since the GRO, as rightly submitted by learned counsel for the WBSEDCL, is the appropriate authority under the extant Regulations for deciding all billing disputes in respect of electricity matters, this Court is not inclined to enter into the merits of the matter.

Accordingly, WPA No. 7211 of 2022 is disposed of by granting the petitioner liberty to refer the disputes, as raised herein in respect of the bills for consumption of electricity, before the concerned GRO. If so referred, the said GRO shall decide the issue as expeditiously as possible, in accordance with law, upon giving adequate opportunity of representation/hearing to all concerned, including the petitioner and the WBSEDCL, preferably within six weeks from the date of reference.

It is made clear that the merits of the respective contentions of the parties have not been gone into by this Court.

There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent photostat certified copies of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance with the requisite formalities.

(Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.)