No reasons given by AAP govt for our CAG audit: Discom to HC

A private power distribution company today claimed in the Delhi High Court that the AAP government's order to get its account audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has no "reason".
"The order has no indication for auditing. The reason is also missing from the order," the counsel appearing for Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) told the court, adding that "it's a non speaking order".
In its arguments before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, TPDDL cited Section 20 of the CAG Act to drive home its point that the top auditor was not empowered to audit the accounts of any private firm.

It also referred to a 2002 communication of the CAG that said the discoms were not government entities.
"There is no provision in law with regard to the audit of private entity," TPDDL counsel said.
The discoms -- TPDDL, BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd -- have challenged the January 7, 2014 order of the AAP government, which asked the CAG to audit their accounts.

The arguments, which remained inconclusive, will resume tomorrow.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions, including appeals filed by three private discoms against the order of a single judge refusing to stay the Delhi government's decision to have CAG audit of their accounts.

Apart from the pleas, the bench is also hearing a PIL filed by NGO United RWAs Joint Action seeking an audit of the discoms' accounts by CAG.
The discoms have moved the larger bench of the court against its single judge's order of January 24, last year, refusing to stall CAG audit and asking them to "fully cooperate with CAG in the audit process".