Mumbai: Now that Adani group has taken over the Reliance Energy, it is duty-bound to take care of all the responsibilities of the latter, a district consumer forum observed recently, imposing a fine of Rs50,000 on the electricity providing group. The penalty was ordered to be paid to a senior railway engineer, who suffered mental agony due to the overcharged bills, served to him by the erstwhile service provider.
Rajendra Ingole, who resides in a railway bungalow in Santacruz, had dragged the Reliance Energy to the district forum alleging deficiency in services. The senior engineers in the Indian Railways accused the Reliance Energy of overcharging despite complaints.
According to Ingole, he is being served upon an overcharged bill since 2004. He claimed the service provider miscalculated the consumption of units. In his complaint before the forum, Ingole maintained that the service provider calculated his consumption in the ‘business’ category, which was incorrect.
“The service provider must calculate consumption in the category of domestic use,” Ingole argued. Ingole further highlighted the fact that once he received a bill of over Rs1,00,000, but it was rectified by the service provider after he lodged several complaints with it. However, the overcharging continued, alleged Ingole.
During the proceedings, the forum was apprised that the Adani group had taken over the Reliance Energy group. Having considered the submissions, the forum, led by RG Wankhede, said, “By virtue of the collaboration, Adani has to take the responsibility of Reliance Energy.”
“The forum is of the considered opinion that Ingole has been subjected to mental agony and trauma due to the overcharging and the entire process of him writing letters seeking rectification of the overcharged bills. Thus, the service provider must pay a cost of Rs50,000 to Ingole,” the forum ruled. The forum further ordered the service provider to ensure, henceforth, Ingole’s bills are calculated as per domestic consumption.
