Back
ARIJIT PASAYAT, HARJIT SINGH BEDI, ASOK KUMAR GANGULY
PTC India Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Thr. its Secretary – Respondent
What is the nature and scope of the jurisdiction conferred by Section 121 of the Electricity Act, 2003? What is the jurisdiction of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity to deal with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Fixation of Trading Margin) Regulations, 2006? What is the applicability of the decision in West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission v. CESC Ltd. to cases arising under the Electricity Act, 2003?
Key Points: - Section 121 of the Electricity Act, 2003, grants powers to issue orders, instructions, and directions, and is both revisional and supervisory in character, encompassing all aspects of statutory functions under the Act (!) (!) . - The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity held that it had no jurisdiction to deal with the matter concerning the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's order and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Fixation of Trading Margin) Regulations, 2006 (!) . - The appellants contended that the decision in West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission v. CESC Ltd. is not applicable to the present case under the Electricity Act, 2003 (!) . - The appellants argued that Section 121 of the 2003 Act provides ample power to the Tribunal to deal with the matter, and that the fixation of tariff is conceptually and contextually different from the fixation of trading margin (!) . - The respondents argued that the Tribunal, being a creature of the statute, cannot go into the validity or legality of the Regulations (!) . - The court noted that the need for an expert body was highlighted in the West Bengal Electricity case, which appears to be the basis for enacting Section 121 in the 2003 Act (!) . - Due to the importance of the matter and case laws, the court decided to refer the matter to a larger Bench (!) (!) . - The larger Bench is to consider the applicability of the West Bengal Electricity case to cases under the 2003 Act where parties approach the Tribunal under Section 121 (!) . - The larger Bench will also consider whether the Tribunal has the jurisdiction to decide the validity of Regulations framed by the CERC (!) . - The matter was to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for necessary orders (!) .
JUDGMENT
Dr. Arijit Pasayat, J.—
1. In these appeals and special leave petition, challenge in each case is to the order passed by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (in short the ‘Tribunal’). Challenge before the Tribunal was to the order/decision dated 23.1.2006 of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (in short the ‘CERC’) and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Fixation of Trading Margin) Regulations, 2006 (in short the ‘Regulations’) published in the Gazette of India on 27.1.2006. The Tribunal by the impugned judgment held that it has no jurisdiction to deal with the matter. For this purpose the Tribunal placed reliance on a three-Judge Bench decision of this Court in West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission v. CESC Ltd.1 (2002 (8) SCC 715). The conclusion in the said decision was to the effect that the High Court sitting as an Appellate Court under Section 27 of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 1998 (in short ‘1998 Act’) has no jurisdiction to go into the validity of the Regulations. It was ultimately held that there is weighty authority for the proposition that a Tribunal which is a creature of the statute cannot question the vires of the
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
