M/S. Anupriya Agro Industries v. The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited And ORS.

AD-08 Ct No.09 05.03.2024 TN WPA No. 25168 of 2023 M/s. Anupriya Agro Industry Vs.

The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited and others Mr. Pritam Choudhury .... for the petitioner Mr. Srijan Nayak, Mrs. Rituparna Maitra .... for the WBSEDCL

1. Affidavit-of-service filed today be kept on record.

2. The petitioner has raised a billing dispute for electricity consumed. Learned counsel for the petitioner files a supplementary affidavit with leave of court and submits that during pendency of the dispute in the writ petition, the electricity connection of the petitioner has been severed.

3. It is argued that the petitioner, being a small scale industry, suffered severely due to power cuts at the instance of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL). However, the bills raised were disproportionate and are disputed by the petitioner. The petitioner also wrote to the concerned authorities, including the Regional Grievance Redressal Officer (RGRO), but to no effect.

4. Learned counsel for the WBSEDCL controverts the allegations and stands by the bills raised by the WBSEDCL.

5. Be that as it may, under the governing Regulations of the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC), the appropriate authority to decide billing disputes is the RGRO.

6. Accordingly, WPA No. 25168 of 2023 is disposed of by directing the respondent no. 5, that is, the Regional S.E. (Com) & Regional Grievance Redressal Officer, Murshidabad Region of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited to decide the petitioner's complaint, as annexed at page-71 of the writ petition, by treating the same to be a reference under the Regulations and decide the issues involved in accordance with law, upon hearing all concerned parties including the petitioner, through its representative, and the WBSEDCL at the earliest, positively within four weeks from date.

7. There will be no order as to costs.

8. 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.)