Shimla: The High Court has imposed Rs 25,000 as cost on the HP State Electricity Board (HPSEB) for the misuse of the process of law.
The court dismissed the petition filed by the board through its Executive Director (Personnel) challenging the order passed by the Forum for Redressal of Grievances of HPSEB Consumers that had decided a complaint filed by an industrial unit and directed the HPSEB to pay interest to it.
The industrial unit had filed the complaint before the forum alleging that the board had paid less interest to it on the security deposited with it. The unit stated that the board had paid less interest to it from 2005 onwards in terms of the HPERC Consumer Grievances Redressal Regulations, thus it was liable to pay penal interest.
After going through the record, the forum allowed the complaint of the industrial unit and directed the HPSEB to pay interest in consonance with the HPERC Consumer Grievances Redressal Regulations. Aggrieved by the order, the board had filed the petition before the court.
Dismissing the petition, a Division Bench comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua observed that “how the process of the court is sought to be abused in order to save the skin of the employees of the board is best reflected in the instant case”.
The court directed the board to pay the due and admissible amount to the industrial unit in terms of the order passed by the forum and also pay the cost at the first instance and thereafter recover the same from the erring officials after conducting an inquiry.
