Transparency Over Technicality: High Court Backs Consumer Rights in Electricity Billing Dispute

In a clear message to service providers and private maintenance entities, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a challenge to electricity billing regulations, ruling that entities cannot use procedural technicalities to bypass regulatory transparency. Justice Kuldeep Tiwari, presiding over the case of M/S Brahma Maintenance Pvt. Ltd. vs. The Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum (UHBVN) , rejected the petitioner’s claims that a lack of direct notice invalidated an order meant to protect residents from illegal overcharging.

The Backdrop of the Dispute

The dispute originated from the residents of the Max Height Metro View Apartment in Sonipat. Consumers, led by respondent Baljinder Singh, alleged that the maintenance firm was engaging in systematic overcharging for electricity. Reports suggested that the firm was adding unauthorized maintenance and service charges to electricity bills—amounts totaling approximately ₹5–7 lakhs, which were being inconsistently collected from flat owners. Additionally, the maintenance firm was accused of failing to remit payments to the UHBVN (Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam) in a timely manner, burdening residents with unfair surcharges.

The Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum (CGRF) intervened, issuing strict directions to ensure billing transparency and requiring the maintenance firm to separate common area utility charges from individual electricity consumption.

The "Natural Justice" Argument

The petitioner, M/S Brahma Maintenance Pvt. Ltd. , sought to quash the CGRF’s order on the ground that it violated the principle of audi alteram partem (the right to be heard). They argued that since no direct notice was served to the maintenance firm, the proceedings were per se illegal.

The Court, however, remained unimpressed. Justice Kuldeep Tiwari noted that the petitioner’s principal—the housing society management—had been fully involved in the proceedings and, in fact, had received communications from the SDO regarding the billing irregularities. The firm’s attempt to claim ignorance was characterized by the bench as an "oblique motive" to create a defense for an appellate stage.

Key Observations from the Court

The Court’s order highlights that procedural principles like audi alteram partem are intended to ensure fairness, not to provide a shield for those attempting to evade accountability.

• On the misuse of natural justice: “The doctrine of audi alteram partem cannot be used to cure the self-suffered wound, specifically, by those persons who are sitting on the fence.”
• On billing transparency: “The electricity bill being served to the residents/users should clearly show the energy consumed and tariff applicable including all the relevant details i.e. electricity duty, Municipal Tax and FSA, if any.”
• On accountability: “Non-responding to the references of the SDO/Respondent is a clear-cut gross violation of the existing regulation.”
• On future remediation: “If M/s. Brahma Maintenance Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Max Heights Metroview Apartments Authorities still do not ensure meticulous compliance... the Forum directs SDO/Respondent to initiate appropriate action against them.”

A Win for Residential Utility Consumers

The Court’s decision reinforces the applicability of HERC’s Single Point Supply Regulations (Regulation No. HERC/27/2023) and mandatory compliance with Sales Circular No. U-01/2021.

By dismissing the petition, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has affirmed that maintenance companies operating under single-point supply arrangements are not at liberty to bundle miscellaneous maintenance costs with electricity tariffs. The ruling serves as a vital precedent for residents in group housing societies, ensuring that utility billing must remain transparent, distinct, and directly aligned with government tariff schedules.

For the residents of Max Height Metro View, the decision ensures their right to clear, fair, and legally compliant utility billing, setting a standard that other maintenance providers in Haryana will now be expected to uphold.