Siliguri, June 27: The district consumer disputes redressal forum in Siliguri has imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on three officials of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd for violating its order and disconnecting power supply to a government residential flat.

Forum president Himadri K. Guha Roy on Wednesday gave the assistant engineer, station manager and circle grievance redressal officer of the Hakimpara sector office of the WBSEDCL a month’s time to pay the fine.

Dilip Biswas, the occupant of Flat A-5, Kutcherie Road Government Quarters, had filed a petition on May 28 after the power company served him a notice on May 14, asking him to pay the revised rates for electricity consumed by the previous occupant.

“The earlier occupant, Ajit Goldar of the state cooperative department, stayed at the flat between 2003 and March 2006. He had cleared his dues, but the revised rates, fixed by the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission, were imposed after he was transferred to Calcutta,” Biswas said today.

“The WBSEDCL notice asked me to pay Rs 201 as the revised arrears for a period that Mr Goldar was the occupant, giving me two weeks’ time, after which they would cut off supply. The amount may have been insignificant, but I refused to pay on principle and took the matter to the forum so that others are not harassed by the power company,” Biswas added.

The employee of the consumer department filed the petition under Section 13(3B) of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, seeking a stay on the notice. Considering the urgency of the situation, the forum had in an ex-parte interim order on May 28, restrained the power company from disconnecting the line.

“A date (June 13) was fixed for a hearing as to why the interim order should not be made absolute. But, owing to a local bandh on that date, the hearing was deferred to June 20,” Guha Roy said. But the petitioner filed an affidavit that day saying the company had cut off power supply to the flat on June 19.

Another order was issued asking the company to restore the supply within 24 hours and submit a compliance report, which it did. But the forum has taken serious cognisance of the fact the opposing parties had violated the interim order.

“The violation of an interim order of a forum or a court entails a penalty between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 and/or imprisonment of one month to three years,” Guha Roy said. “But the forum has imposed a minimum penalty so that such instances are not repeated again.”

Kabindra Bhowmik, the lawyer representing WBSEDCL, said he received the fine order yesterday. “We will decide on our next course of action after scrutinising it.”