An engineer with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) will have to pay Rs. 25,000 from his salary to a 71-year-old Sangrur woman PSPCL had issued inflated electricity bills to between September 2011 and May 2012.
The district consumer disputes redressal forum here on Monday directed PSPCL assistant executive engineer Pawan Kumar to pay the amount to Surjit Kaur as litigation expenses and for causing mental harassment to her. The forum also accused him of filing a "false and absurd" affidavit against the woman.

Forum president SD Sharma said the forum had also directed the PSPCL to withdraw the power charges that had been mentioned as sundry charges in the bills issued to the widow between September 2011 and May 2012.

The widow complained to the forum that she was being issued inflated bills and was asked to repeatedly deposit Rs. 6,000 between September 2011 and May 2012. Sharma said despite several representations to the authorities concerned, the woman had been issued inflated bill every two months, making her to pay more than the electricity units she use. "But PSPCL authorities failed to pay any heed to it," he said.

The forum observed that the PSPCL was duty-bound to ensure that the meter did not show inflated readings. It was also observed that the woman was mentally harassed with threats of disconnection of power supply.