JUDGMENT :

Ranjan Gogoi, J.

1. Is the tariff fixed under a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) sacrosanct and inviolable and beyond review and correction by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission which is the statutory authority for fixation of tariff under the Electricity Act, 2003 (hereinafter for short ‘the Act’). This is the short question that arises for determination in the present appeals. The Regulatory Commission did not consider it appropriate to confer on itself the said power upon a construction of the provisions of the Act and the terms of the PPA(s) in question. The Appellate Tribunal disagreed and held that the power would be available to the State Regulatory Commission. This is how the matter has come up before us in the present appeals filed at the instance of the distribution licensee which is common in both the cases, namely, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited.

2. A very brief resume of the relevant facts would be appropriate and would assist a determination of the question arising identified hereinabove. The respondent No. 1 in Civil Appeal No. 5875 of 2012, namely, Tarini Infrastructure Ltd., is a power producer which has set up/installed two small hydro power proje