Power discoms inflated accounts, Delhi government tells SC

The Delhi government on Monday alleged in the Supreme Court that the consumers in the capital were paying higher electricity tariff, as the balance sheets of the distribution companies (Discoms) were inflated.

The Arvind Kejriwal government also urged the apex court to step in and permit the official auditor to continue to examine their (discoms) accounts, as it challenged the Delhi High Court's order of October 30 last year that had quashed its decision for such an audit.

The high court decision has also been challenged by the Comptroller and Auditor General, besides an umbrella of some resident welfare associations. The three discoms are: Tata Power Delhi Distribution, BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna.

Senior counsel Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for Delhi government, told the apex court that the discoms inflated their balance sheets and valuation of their assets which have resulted in the fixation of higher tariff.

"Fudging of figures is enough justification for conducting a CAG audit," he told the apex court bench of Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre. "Audits are necessary for public faith", he said.

The court decided to hear the matter on March 2.

Issuing notice to the discoms, the court asked senior counsel P. Chidambram, Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the power distribution companies, to file their responses to the relevant pleas before the next hearing.

Senior counsel Paras Kuhad, appearing for CAG, told the court that under the constitution, the official auditor carries the mandate to examine the accounts of the companies where transactions involve the government or wherever government receivable are involved.