BEFORE THE STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION AT PUDUCHERRY Dated this the 1^st day of April 2026 FIRST APPEAL No.09/2024

1. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Puducherry, Puducherry.

2. Secretary(Electricity), Govt. of Puducherry, Puducherry.

3. Superintending Engineer-I, Electricity Department, Puducherry.

4. Executive Engineer-I, Electricity Department, Perumal Koil Street, Puducherry.

5. Assistant Engineer-Town II, Electricity Department, Perumal Koiil Street, Puducherry.

6. Junior Engineer, Electricity Department, Venkata Nagar, Puducherry.

7. The Junior Accounts Officer/Revenue-I, Electricity Department, Puducherry. .. Appellants Vs

1. V.A.Vasudevaraju (died)

Rep. by his Legal Representatives.

The respondents 2 to 5

2. V.Suseeladevi, W/o. Vasudevaraju

3. V.Shanthi, D/o.Vasudevraju.

4. V.Hemalatha, D/o.Vasudevaraju 5.V.Arumugam, S/o.Vasudevaraju The respondents 2 to 5 are residing At "Valli Illam", No.5, Sixth Cross, Brindavanam, Puducherry. … Respondents (On appeal against the order passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Puducherry in CC No.18/2016 dated 22.09.2023)

CC No.18/2016 V.A.Vasudevaraju “Valli Illam”

5, SixthCross Street, Brindavan, Puducherry-605013 .. Complainant Vs

1. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Puducherry, Puducherry. 2. Secretary(Electricity), Govt. of Puducherry, Puducherry.

3. Superintending Engineer-I, Electricity Department, Puducherry.

4. Executive Engineer-I, Electricity Department, Perumal Koil Street, Puducherry.

5. Assistant Engineer-Town II, Electricity Department, Perumal Koiil Street, Puducherry.

6. Junior Engineer, Electricity Department, Venkata Nagar, Puducherry. .. Opposite Parties (Memorandum of Appeal amended as per order in M.A.No.26/2025, dt.09.07.2025)

BEFORE:

DR.S.SUNDARAVADIVELU, PRESIDING MEMBER TMT.S. OUMASANGUERY, MEMBER FOR THE APPELLANTS Thiru.S.Sridhar, Government Pleader FOR THE RESPONDENTS:

Thiru.S.Vimal, Advocate

O R D E R

(By Dr.S.Sundaravadivelu, Presiding Member)

This appeal has been filed against the order of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Puducherry (District Commission in short hereafter) in CC No.18 of 2016 wherein the District Commission found the services of the appellant herein (Electricity Department, Puducherry) to be deficient and awarded compensation. The complaint was filed by V.A. Vasudevaraju, a consumer of the Electricity Department in Puducherry, following a series of billing disputes and service failures that began in 2011.

The narrative of his complaint is as follows:

2. The issue originated when the complainant received abnormally high monthly energy bills for April 2011, July 2012, and August 2012, which amounted to Rs.

3,583, Rs. 33,547, and Rs. 87,724, respectively. Despite sending multiple written representations via speed post to various officials in the Electricity Department requesting bill revisions, he received no corrective action or formal reply. Instead, in October 2012, the department sent him a brief letter demanding a payment of Rs.85,002/- without providing any itemized details.

3. The complainant contended that the department failed in its duty to maintain and replace defective electricity meters promptly. He further alleged that while the department refused to correct the disputed bills, they also followed a practice of refusing to accept payments for subsequent normal monthly bills until the disputed arrears were cleared. This cycle led the department to resort to removing his fuse and disconnecting his power three times without notice, which the complainant viewed as an attempt to force payment while the dispute was still pending.

4. Before approaching the Consumer Commission, the complainant had filed a case with the Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum (CGRF) in 2013. The Forum ruled in his favor, directing the department to drop a claim for Rs. 49,900 and issue corrected bills. However, the complainant alleged that instead of returning this money to him, the department adjusted the amount toward future monthly bill