The Delhi High Court today issued notices to the private discoms -- BSES Rajdhani, BSES Yamuna and North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) and asked them to file their response on a petition seeking audit of their accounts by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). 

Taking note of the petition filed by United RWAs Joint Action (URJA) which alleged that the Delhi government had come under the pressure of discoms and had interfered in the tariff making policy of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjeev Khanna directed the discoms to file their response within six weeks.

Senior Counsels Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Sandeep Sethi, appearing for the discoms, told the court that CAG is not authorised to audit the accounts of private parties. 

Citing the clause in the agreements, Mr Singhvi said after the privatisation of the power sector, their accounts cannot be audited by the CAG.

Counsel Pyoli Jyoti, appearing for the petitioners, contended that the government still holds 49 per cent equity in the power distribution companies and so comes under the purview of the CAG. 

The Court asked the government counsel and the private power distribution companies to apprise them whether the audit of accounts of private discoms can be entrusted to the CAG? The court sought the discoms’ response by way of an affidavit. 

The petitioner alleged that due to the interference of Delhi government, the DERC could not fix the tariff for 2011-12. Even though the discoms earned huge profits the power tariff was raised flouting all terms of privatisation agreements. 

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), however, filed its affidavit stating that they did not examine the accounts of the discoms while fixing the power tariff every fiscal year and said they did not interfere in the functioning of discoms. UNI