Dismissing BSES Yamuna’s plea against an order directing it to refund excess power charges it had “coerced” a lady doctor into paying for alleged theft of electricity, the Delhi State Consumer Commission Discoms termed the power discoms in the city as “haughty” and held that they “revel in harassing customers”. Discoms exhibit a “scant regard” for welfare of society, it further noted. “Electricity department is a welfare department and is supposed to provide necessary facilities without disruption, but functioning of the appellant party shows that they have scant regard for welfare of society and their attitude is that of being hot-headed and haughty and they seem to revel in harassing customers,” a bench presided by Justice Barkat Ali Zaidi said. The bench said that it is high time these companies “change their attitude” and “realise that they are supposed to provide hassle-free service.” It confirmed the order of the district consumer forum, which had absolved the complainant Nirmala Joseph of theft charges and held that the discom had coerced her into paying '4,12,116 as power consumption and theft charges.
*** Woman gets jail for trafficking Age Correspondent New Delhi, Sept. 29
A city court sentenced a woman to 10 years imprisonment for pushing a girl into flesh trade. The menace of human trafficking needs to be curbed and that requires sincere efforts from the police, the court said. Additional sessions judge Kaveri Baweja sentenced the accused, Padma, after holding her guilty of forcefully pushing the victim into prostitution against her will. The court said that Padma in total disregard for the dignity of the girl subjected her to forceful sexual intercourse and threw her into prostitution. “The forceful subjection to prostitution certainly must have caused havoc to the mental and physical well-being of the victim and the trauma she must have undergone each time she was forced to do the work of prostitution against her will is beyond imagination,” the judge noted. The court sentenced Padma under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, and imposed a fine of '10,000 on her which would be given to the girl apart from the compensation as recommended under the CrPC.
