Mrs. Silpi Majumder, Member—This appeal has arisen out of the judgment passed by the District Forum, Kolkata, Unit-II, on 14.11.2002 in the case No. 171/2002, wherein the Forum below has allowed the case on contest and directed the OP-CESC to restore electric connection of the complainant without payment of reconnection charge. The Forum also awarded a compensation of Rs. 5,000/- in favour of the complainant payable by the O.P. for harassment and mental agony. The complainant was directed to pay the outstanding amount and the O.P. was directed to raise fresh bill in that context.

2. The brief facts of the case of the complainant before the Forum were that being a consumer under the O.P.-CESC under commercial category the complainant used to pay electric bills regularly. But due to financial difficulties he could not pay electric bill for the month of May, 2001 in time and for that reason subsequent bills were sent to him with notice of disconnection. The complainant received the notice bill for the month of July, 2001 for a sum of Rs. 1,252/-. The due date of payment was 13.8.2001. According to the complainant even after payment of his outstanding dues, the commercial electric connection was disconnected and the O.P. insisted upon him to pay the entire dues to the premises prior to restoration of his service connection. The complainant’s version was that he was not liable to pay the outstanding dues of a third party and that by whimsical act of the O.P. he was put to unnecessary troubles and sufferings for no fault of his own. The complainant filed the case before the Forum below praying for direction upon the O.P. to restore his electric connection immediately without claiming dues of the third party from him and he also prayed for compensation of Rs. 20,000/- for harassment and loss of his business and litigation cost of Rs. 2,000/-.

3. Being dissatisfied with the above mentioned order the appellant-CESC has preferred the present appeal before this Commission. The learned Counsel for the appellant submits that during inspection made by the appellant it was detected by the CESC-people that the present respondent was supplying energy to a defaulting consumer of the CESC, without taking any permission from the licensee, whose electric connection was disconnected due to non-payment of electric bills. It has been admitted by the appellant that the present respondent had the outstanding dues of Rs. 70.36. Only for supplying energy unauthorisedly to another defaulting consumer the CESC people disconnected the respondent’s electric connection without any prior notice or without assigning any reason. It has further been submitted by the appellant that in case of unauthorized supply of energy, the Licensee has power to disconnect the service connection without any prior notice. According to the appellant the judgment passed by the Forum below is erroneous, unjust and liable to be set aside.

4. On careful perusal of the order passed by the Forum below and the record it is noticed by us that the appellant O.P.-C.E.S.C. took the same plea before the Forum below by filing w/o, but the Forum below did not consider the averments made by the O.P.-appellant in its w/o. The electric connection of the present respondent was disconnected in his absence due to supplying of energy unauthorisedly to another person without taking any permission from the Licensee. The appellant has admitted that the present respondent had the outstanding dues of Rs. 70.36. We have noticed that this unauthorized supply of energy was detected by the CESC-people at the time of inspection. The appellant refers to the Rule 27(b) of the Conditions of Supply. The Rule 27(b) envisages as ‘If at any time, the consumer is found to be supplying electricity to any disconnected service, the Licensee has the authority to disconnect the supply of electricity forthwith without notice.’ Therefore, in our view there was no illegal action on the part of the CESC-appellant in disconne