IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARUN-UL-RASHID MONDAY, THE 9TH FEBRUARY 2009 / 20TH MAGHA 1930 WP(C).No. 14097 of 2007(C) --------------------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------------- BINOY THOMAS. ADVOCATE, 35/617-A, NR KALOOR HOUSING COLONY ROAD, ARAVINDAKSHAN LANE,ERNAKULAM,KOCHI-25. BY ADV. MR.PAULSON THOMAS. RESPONDENTS: ------------------------ 1. BSNL, REPRESENTED BY GENERAL MANAGER, BSNL BHAVAN,ERNAKULAM. 2. THE GENERAL MANAGER, BSNL BHAVAN,ERNAKULAM. R1 & R2 BY ADV. MR.K.KESAVANKUTTY, SC, BSNL. THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 09/02/2009,THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: W.P.(C). NO.14097/2007-C: APPENDIX PETITIONERS' EXHIBITS: EXT.P.1: COPY OF THE DEMAND NOTE IN TRIPLICATE SHOWING ACCEPTANCE OF RS.3653/- ISSUED BY THE R.1. DTD. 01/06/2005. EXT.P.1.A: COPY OF THE CASH RECEIPT ISSUED BY THE R.1. DTD. 01/06/2005. EXT.P.2.SERIES: COPIES OF THE SPECIMEN OF TELEPHONE BILLS ISSUED BY THE R.1. FROM 01/07/2005 TO 31/03/2007 (16 NUMBERS) IN RESPECT OF THE TELEPHONE WITH NUMBER 2346834. EXT.P.3.SERIES: COPIES OF THE SPECIMEN OF TELEPHONE BILLS ISSUED BY THE R.1. ECT OF THE TELEPHONE WITH NUMBER 2346885 (CONSUMER NUMBER 5819948). EXT.P.4: COPY OF THE IMPUGNED BILL FOR RS.44794/- DTD. 07/04/2007 ISSUED BY THE R.1. EXT.P.5: COPY OF THE TELEPHONE BILL DTD. 07/05/2007 FOR RS.5400/-. EXT.P.5.A: COPY OF THE TELEPHONE BILL DTD. 07/06/2007 FOR RS.849/-. EXT.P.5.B: COPY OF THE TELEPHONE BILL DT.D 07/07/2007 FOR RS.1046/-. EXT.P.5.C: COPY OF THE TELEPHONE BILL DTD. 07/08/2007 FOR RS.841/-. EXT.P.5.D: COPY OF THE TELEPHONE BILL DTD. 07/09/2007 FOR RS.784/-. EXT.P.6: COPY OF THE REQUEST DTD. 16/05/2007 SUBMITTED TO THE RESPONDENTS BY THE PETITIONER. EXT.P.7: COPY OF THE DEMAND NOTE DTD. 07/04/2007 FOR RS.22,397. EXT.P.8: COPY OF THE RECEIPT DT.D 23/01/2009 ISSUED BY THE BSNL. EXT.P.9: COPY OF THE NOTICE ISSUED BY THE HIGH COURT LEGAL SERVICE COMMITTEE TO THE PETITIONER FOR ATTENDING THE ADALAT HELD ON 21/01/2008. RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS: EXT.R1: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/03/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. W.P.(C). NO.14097/2007-C: EXT.R2: COPY OF THE LETTER DTD. 25/07/2005 SENT BY THE PETITIONER TO THE RESPONDENT. EXT.R3: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/10/2005 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R4: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/11/2005 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R5: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/12/2005 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R6: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/01/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R7: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/02/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R8: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/03/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R9: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/04/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R10: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/05/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R11: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/06/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R12: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/07/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R13: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/08/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R14: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/09/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R15: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/10/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R16: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/11/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R17: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/12/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R18: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/01/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. W.P.(C). NO.14097/2007-C: EXT.R19: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/02/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R20: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/04/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R21: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/05/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R22: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/11/2005 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R23: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/01/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R24: COPY OF THE BILL DT.D 07/03/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R25: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/05/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R26: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/07/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R27: COPY OF THE BILL DTD 07/09/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R28: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/11/2006 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R29: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/01/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R30: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/03/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R31: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/04/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. EXT.R32: COPY OF THE BILL DTD. 07/05/2007 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER. //TRUE COPY// P.S. TO JUDGE. Prv. HARUN-UL-RASHID,J. --------------------------- W.P.(C).NO.14097 OF 2007 ---------------------------- DATED THIS THE 9TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2009 JUDGMENT Petitioner is the consumer of the lst respondent. He is the subscriber of two telephones bearing No. 2346834 and 2346885 at his office-cum-residence. He applied for broadband internet connection in respect of the phone No.2346834. The installation was done on 24/6/2005. Petitioner submitted that he was receiving bills issued by the lst respondent in respect of telephone No.2346834 including internet charges from 1/7/2005 to 31/3/2007. Series of bills are produced as Ext.P2. It is also submitted by the petitioner that there is no internet connection in respect of telephone No.2346885. 2. The petitioner once requested for shifting the broadband connection from telephone No.2346834 to 2364885. The learned standing counsel for the lst respondent submitted that shifting was made on 24/11/2005. According to the petitioner, he -2- W.P.(C)No.14097/2007 was under the bona fide impression that his internet broadband user in respect of 2346834 did not exceed the fixed rate of Rs.500/-. Petitioner paid the fixed rate of Rs.500/- from 1-7- 2005 to 28-2-2007 in respect of telephone No.2346834. It is the further case of the petitioner that he received a surprise bill of Rs.44,794/- dated 7/4/2007 in respect of telephone No.2346885 for the broadband internet connection. According to the petitioner, he was not given any intimation about the shifting of internet connection to the other telephone, though he had applied for the same. It was further submitted that till 31/3/2007 the bill in respect of petitioner's broadband internet connection was made in respect of phone No.2346834. Ext.P4 is the disputed bill. Subsequent bills are also produced by the petitioner, which are marked as Exts.P5 series. The petitioner prayed for a declaration that Ext.P4 bill towards broadband internet charges for the period from 21/11/2005 to 28/2/2007 is arbitrary, unauthorised and illegal. According to the petitioner, as user never exceeds the minimum charge which he paid regularly by -3- W.P.(C)No.14097/2007 monthly bills, the respondents are not entitled to demand any amount for the said period. The learned counsel for the petitioner also invited my attention to Regulation 5 of 2006 namely, Quality of Service (Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy) Regulation, 2006. Regulation 6.2 reads as follows: “6.2 Any chargeable events the details of which are not available when the bill is prepared shall be included in a subsequent bill, but not later than the fourth monthly bill after the chargeable events occurred. Any details not so presented shall be written off and if significant be counted against the performance for undercharged events in Clause 4.1. Exceptionally, event details from a separate service provider may be billed upto three months after receipt.” 3. On the basis of regulation 6.2 it is contended that the maximum demand for the previous period cannot be made for more than four months. Regulation 6.2 is a provision intended for enabling the lst respondent to demand charges for the previous period. The learned counsel for the lst respondent -4- W.P.(C)No.14097/2007 submitted that the petitioner filed a petition dated 25/7/2005 for shifting of broadband internet connection from telephone No.2346834 to 2346885. Ext.R2 is the copy of the request letter dated 25/7/2005 of the petitioner for shifting the broadband internet connection. The shifting was made with effect from 24/11/2005. The fixed charges for broadband for the period from 24/6/2005 to 28/2/2007 were included in the bill in respect of telephone No.2346834. The bills for the period from 7/10/2005 to 7/5/2007 are produced as Exts.R3 to R21. It is also intimated that no amount was collected as broadband charges in respect of telephone No.2346885 upto the bill dated 7/4/2007. Exts.R22 to R32 are copies of the bills dated 7/11/2005 to 7/5/2007. For Plan 500 Scheme, the free usage allowed was 0.5 GB upto 15/8/2005, 1 GB from 16/8/2005 to 31/12/2006 and 2.5 GB from 1/1/2007 onwards. It is further submitted that on a periodical scrutiny of un-billed cases of broadband usage, the case was noticed and Ext.P4 bill dated 7/4/2007 including arrears against telephone No.2346885 was issued. It is further submitted -5- W.P.(C)No.14097/2007 that the mistake in the bill was examined and found that there is an excess billing of Rs.8,462/- in respect of telephone No.2346885 and that in March, 2008 the said account was closed adjusting the excess amount paid in the subsequent bills. 4. Under regulation a statutory appeal is provided. It is true that the petitioner did not avail of the statutory remedy; but straight away filed this writ petition challenging Exts.P4 and P5 bills. The learned counsel for the lst respondent submitted that the lst respondent is entitled to realise the entire amount demanded in Exts.P4 and P5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the lst respondent is not entitled to realise any amount from the petitioner and if at all they are entitled to realise any amount, the demand shall be enforceable only for a period of past four months. Referring to Regulation 6.2 it is submitted at the bar that on the basis of the interim order passed by this Court, the petitioner remitted an amount of Rs.23,000/- and odd. Learned counsel for the petitioner also submitted that the petitioner paid all the bills issued by the lst respondent for the -6- W.P.(C)No.14097/2007 period from 1/7/2005 to 28/2/2007 and therefore they have no right to issue a second bill for the same period. 5. In the circumstances, the Appellate Authority is directed to examine the legality of Ext.P4 bill for the period from 21.11.2005 to 28/2/2007 for the user of telephone No. 2346834 and for the period from 1/3/2007 to 31/3/2007 for the user of telephone No.2346885 and also to examine the legality of Exts.P5, P5(a), P5(b), P5(c) and P5(d) bills in respect of phone No.2346885. The legality and correctness of the bills shall be enquired into, as it relates to broadband internet connection charges and not regular telephone charges and appropriate orders shall be passed. Writ Petition is disposed of as above. HARUN-UL-RASHID, Judge. kcv.