Hon’ble Sudhir Agarwal, J.—Whether U.P. Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited Absorption Regulations, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as Regulations, 2006) framed by the U.P. Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam is illegal, arbitrary and ultra vires is the question raised in the writ petition.

2. The facts are not in dispute, but, to appreciate the controversy, may be narrated in brief, as under :

3. In the State of Uttar Pradesh, generation, distribution and transmission of electrical energy upto 1989 was solely in the hands of the U.P. State Electricity Board ( in short ‘’UPSEB’), a statutory body constituted under Section 5 of the Electricity Supply Act, 1948 (in short ‘’1948 Act’). With the expansion of the generation units, a government company, namely, U.P. Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (in short ‘’UPRVUNL’) was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 in the year 1980. It is wholly owned by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, in 1985, another company, U.P. Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (in short ‘’UPJVNL’) was incorporated which was also wholly owned by the State Government of U.P. A major power reform was brought into force in the year 1999 by the legislature enact