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2025 Supreme(Online)(CERC) 155
CENTRAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Shri Jishnu Barua, Chairperson, Shri Ramesh Babu V., Member, Shri Harish Dudani, Member, Shri Ravinder Singh Dhillon, Member
M/s. Oyster Renewable Energy Private Limited – Appellant
Versus
Central Transmission Utility of India Limited – Respondent
Petition No. 453/MP/2025 | Petition No. 455/MP/2025
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Ms. Swapna Sehadri, Ms. Aishwarya Subramani, Shri Harsha Rao, Shri Mukesh, Shri Abhishek Kumar, Ms. Shubham Mudgil, Shri Shubham Arya
For the Respondents: Ms. Pallavi Saigal, Ms. Muskan Agarwal
The court affirmed that subsidiaries could submit land documents for parent company connectivity under regulatory powers, recognizing industry practice.
Headnote:(A) Electricity Act, 2003 - Section 79(1)(c) - Regulations 41 and 42 of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter-State Transmission System) Regulations, 2022 - Relaxation of conditions - The petitioners sought relief for the submission of land documents in the name of their subsidiary for connectivity granted to their parent company. The Commission exercised its powers under Regulations 41 and 42 to allow such submission, recognizing industry practice of subsidiary project implementation (Paras 1, 15-18).
(B) The Commission noted previous decisions permitting similar relaxations, directing CTUIL to accept documents in the subsidiary’s name for compliance with conditions subsequent, clarifying the necessity of verification in compliance with company law (Paras 13, 16-20).
Facts of the case:
Petitioners seeking relaxation of GNA Regulations for document submission. Petitioners' projects are progressing with substantial investments made. (Paras 3, 5).
Findings of Court:
The Commission ordered the acceptance of land documents in the name of the subsidiary for compliance, subject to verification that the entity is a subsidiary under company law, rejecting certain claims regarding bank guarantees related to project implementation. (Paras 18-20).
Issues: The key issue was whether the land documents needed to be submitted only in the name of the parent company or could be registered under the subsidiary company's name.
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the regulations allowed for the submission of land documents in the name of a subsidiary where the parent company holds connectivity, empowering temporary arrangements until amendments are made (Paras 15-19).
Result: Petition accepted to allow amendments to GNA regulations, enabling land document acceptance from subsidiaries.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. petition seeks relaxation for subsidiary document submission. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. petitioners urge for urgent hearing and relief from ctuil. (Para 6 , 12) |
| 3. the final order grants relaxation for regulations. (Para 13 , 20 , 24) |
| 4. commission allows subsidiary documents for compliance. (Para 15 , 16) |
ORDER
The Petitioners M/s Oyster Renewable Energy Private Limited and Oyster Green Hybrid One Private under the Petition No. 453/MP/2025, and the Petitioners Avaada Energy Private Limited and Avaada MPSustainable2 Private Limited under the Petition No. 455/MP/2025 have filed the respective Petition under Section 79 (1)(c) of the Electricity Act, 2003 read with Regulations 41 and 42 of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter- State Transmission System) Regulations, 2022 (hereinafter referred as “GNA Regulations”) seeking invocation of this Commission’s “Power to Relax” and “Power to Remove Difficulty” for relaxation of fulfilment of conditions subsequent and directions to CTUIL/Respondent to accept the ‘conditions subsequent’ documents in the name of wholly owned subsidiary (i.e. the Petitioner No. 2 in each Petition) of the Connectivity grantee (i.e. the Petitioner No. 1 in each Petition).
2. The Petitioners in the respective Petition have made the following prayers:
Prayer(s) in Petition No. 453/MP/2025
(a) Exercise its powers under Regulation 41 and Regulation 42 of the GNA Regulations, 2022, and declare that the Petitioners fulfil all conditions pertaining to submission of land documents under Regulation 5.8(xi)(b) of the GNA Regulations, 2022.
(b) Direct CTUIL to accept submission of land documents in the name of OGHOPL in lieu of the connectivity granted in favour of OREPL and return the bank guarantee within 7 days in terms of Regulation 11A of the GNA Regulations, 2022;
(c) In the interim, injunct CTUIL from revoking/ taking any coercive steps towards the Connectivity dated 08.04.2024 and 09.04.2024, during the pendency of the present Petition; and
(d) Pass such other order or orders which are deemed fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case
Prayer(s) in IA No. 39/2025 in Petition No. 453/MP/2025
(a) Direct that the present Petition be listed on an urgent basis at an early date, subject to the convenience of the Hon’ble Commission; and
(b) Pass any such further order(s) as deemed fit and proper.
Prayer(s) in Petition No. 455/MP/2025
(a) Exercise its power under Regulation 41 and Regulation 42 of the GNA Regulations 2022 and thereby direct CTUIL to accept the documents towards fulfilment of conditions subsequent under Regulations 11 A (1) & (2) in the name of Petitioner No. 2 / AMSPL for utilisation of Connectivity dated 08.04.2024 granted to Petitioner No. 1 / AEPL under Regulation 5.8(xi)(c) of GNA Regulations 2022 and take consequential action of returning the bank guarantee within 7 days to Petitioner No. 1.
(b) Pass such other order or orders which are deemed fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.
Prayer(s) in IA No. 41/2025 in Petition No. 455/MP/2025
(a) Allow the present application,
(b) List the present petition and the instant application for hearing on an urgent basis.
(c) restrain CTUIL from taking coercive steps against the Applicants, including revocation of the connectivity dated 08.04.2024 granted to the Applicant No.1 and encashment of the bank guarantee furnished by Applicant No.1, during the pendency of the present Petition, and/or
Submissions of Petitioners in Petition No. 453/MP/2025
3. Petitioners have made the following submissions:
a) Petitioner No.1, M/s Oyster Renewable Energy Private Limited (OREPL), was formerly AB Energia Renewables Private Limited. Petitioner No. 2 M/s. Oyster Green Hybrid One Private Limited (OGHOPL) is a 100% subsidiary of OREPL. It was formed as a project-specific SPV for the implementation of the project.
b) AB Energia Renewables Private Limited had submitted the applications to CTUIL for
