JUDGMENT

Hon'ble Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.

(Via Video Conferencing)

The petitioner before this Court in the present writ petition, is a statutory corporation and a distributing agency, engaged in distribution of the electricity to the consumers and their acts and actions are being governed by the provisions, contained under the Electricity Act, 2003, to be read with the Regulations, which are framed by the Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (hereinafter to be referred as “UERC"), laying down the guidelines, parameters and the regulations, for the purposes of regulating the activities to be discharged by the petitioner in distribution of electricity to their respective consumers.

2. Brief facts, which engage consideration in the present writ petition are that, the respondent herein, had filed a complaint on 28.08.2020, before the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (hereinafter to be referred as “CGRF"), as constituted under sub Section (5) of Section 42 of the Electricity Act, 2003. In the complaint, which was thus instituted on the aforesaid date, it was numbered as Complaint Case No. 77 of 2020, Manjeet Kaur Vs. Executive Engineer EDD Rural UPCL Haldwani, wherein the complainant has prayed for; that initially there was a low tension electricity line, which was being carried over from the mango orchard of the complainant and since the low tension line, has been subsequently converted into a high tension electricity line and since it is passing over the respondent' orchard i.e. posing danger for the respondent, as well as the workmen, working in the orchard in the process of plucking of the fruits or for the purposes of insecticidation of the plants and hence the prayer was made that pole may be shifted along with the transformer and simultaneously, a prayer was also made by the respondent/complainant that as a consequence of shifting of one pole, the open high tension wire may also be replaced by an insulated cable, which may meet the purpose and requirement of the respondent, and to provide safety and protection to the respondent, as well as the workmen, who are working under him in the orchard.

3. On the said complaint being instituted by the respondent herein, it was also pleaded by the respondent that there are about 40 years old mango trees beneath the transmission line, there is an agricultural field also, and since the high tension wires are being carried through, the orchard by creating dumps in the fruit trees, it is extremely dangerous and there is all possibility that any untoward incident may happen at any time, with anyone, and hence the prayer was made for shifting of one pole and the transformer thus installed by the respondent.

4. On the complaint in question, which was thus instituted on 28.08.2020 by the respondent herein, the petitioner herein was noticed and surprisingly, in view of the observations, which are likely to be made in the forthcoming paragraphs, what is reflected is that the present petitioner in opposition to the aforesaid complaint, which was filed by the respondent before the CGRF; the Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (hereinafter to be referred as “UPCL"), Kumaon Zone, Haldwani, District Nainital, had filed as many as four written statements/objections to the complaint of the respondent on the following dates:-

(i) 11.09.2020

(ii) 22.09.2020

(iii) 14.01.2021

(iv) 24.02.2021.

5. The reference of the aforesaid dates and filing of the written statement/objections by the petitioner before the CGRF, has been consciously made by the Court, because it was not an isolated opportunity only, which was granted to the petitioner to project their complete case. In fact, they themselves on their own choice, have filed four written statements, while opposing the objection. But, in fact, in none of the objections thus filed by the petitioner, any of the grounds which has been taken now in the writ petition, has been taken by the petitioner for opposing the complaint, which is now being sought