The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Comptroller and Auditor General audit of Delhi's private electricity distribution companies and maintained status quo until a July 15 hearing. Power Minister Ashish Sood described the order as procedural and not a verdict on the merits.
A Bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Shree Chandrashekhar issued notice on a petition by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission and directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for reference to an appropriate Bench.
The court also stayed an April 20 order by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity that had set aside the DERC direction for a CAG audit and instead called for appointment of any chartered accountant.
Mr. Sood said the interim direction preserves the status quo while legal issues are examined. “It is neither a final verdict nor a clean chit to private power distribution companies,” he said.
He added that the stay prevents immediate implementation of a mechanism that could burden consumers with nearly ₹38,500 crore in higher tariffs through liquidation of regulatory assets.
