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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
SC upholds tribunal order in Adani case, nixes discoms' plea
Jaipur: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by Rajasthan's power distribution companies against an order of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) that ruled in favour of Adani Power Rajasthan Ltd (APRL) for levying a charge of Rs 50 per tonne of coal. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The case is related to a Dec 2017 notification issued by Coal India Ltd, imposing a charge of Rs 50 per tonne as evacuation facility charges (EFC). Adani Power, which signed a PPA with the state's discoms in 2010 for the supply of 1200 MW of power, claimed that the levy constituted a "change in law" under Article 10 of the PPA. A bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal held that there was no merit in the plea of Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL) and Rajasthan discoms. It upheld the APTEL's finding that a levy introduced by Coal India Ltd constituted a "change in law" entitling Adani to compensation under its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). After the CIL notification, Adani Power notified the discoms of the change in law event, seeking compensation. When state discoms failed to respond, Adani approached the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC), which partially allowed its claims. Both parties subsequently approached APTEL, which in April 2024 ruled in favour of Adani Power. In the order, Justice Sundresh said the statutory levy by a govt entity like CIL qualified as a change in law, triggering the restitution principle enshrined in the PPA. The verdict said that compensation must be provided to restore the power generator to the same economic position it would have occupied but for the change in law. "We find no merit in this appeal. The appeal stands dismissed accordingly," it held.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Chief Justice of India to decide fresh application in Bangalore Palace Grounds case
Bengaluru: The Supreme Court Tuesday directed that a fresh application filed by Karnataka govt in the Bengaluru Palace Grounds case be placed before the chief justice of India on the administrative side for appropriate orders regarding posting of the matter. Karnataka govt filed the application in the pending civil appeal, seeking a stay against the May 22 order for release of transferable development rights (TDR) certificates worth over Rs 3,400 crore to the legal heirs of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar and others. This is in lieu of 15 acres of Bangalore Palace Grounds acquired for widening Ballari and Jayamahal roads. The state govt informed the apex court that it filed a separate review petition against the May 22 order and sought to refer the matter to a larger bench. The state govt contended that a bench sitting in a contempt jurisdiction cannot pass such an order, pointing out that it succeeded before a division bench of Karnataka high court while seeking a stay on use of TDRs. On the other hand, counsel for the erstwhile Mysuru royal family members submitted that the application is nothing but an abuse of the process of law and pointed out that a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar had already rejected these contentions. However, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta said the application should be filed before the CJI on the administrative side for appropriate orders.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Supreme Court directs Rajasthan discoms to pay 186 crore to Adani Power
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Rajasthan's power distribution companies against a ruling of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in favour of Adani Power Rajasthan Ltd, asking them to pay Adani Power around ₹186 crore in compensation. A bench of justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal said on May 23, that it found no merit in the appeals filed by Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL) and other state discoms. The court upheld APTEL's April 2024 decision that recognised a levy introduced by Coal India Ltd (CIL) as a 'change in law' event under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Adani Power and the discoms. In December 2017, CIL had issued a notification introducing an Evacuation Facility Charge to cover the expenses related to transporting coal from the mine to the destination. Adani Power, which had entered a PPA to supply 1,200 MW of power to Rajasthan discoms, argued that such charge amounted to a sudden change in law and increased its cost of generating electricity. Since the provisions of the PPA protected it from financial losses due to new or modified laws, rules, or charges imposed by the government, Adani Power claimed it was entitled to receive compensation. After the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission partially allowed Adani Power's claim, the company as well as the State discoms appealed to APTEL. The Tribunal held that the new charge levied by CIL was a statutory levy imposed by a government entity and thereby qualifying as a change-in-law event and thus, Adani Power should be paid the compensation by the discoms. In its judgement on Friday, the Supreme Court, too, agreed with the Tribunal's ruling and hence, upheld its order directing JVVNL and other discoms to compensate Adani Power. The court noted that the introduction of the EFC disrupted the economic basis of the PPA and activated the principle of restitution. 'The new statutory levy by a government body like CIL qualifies as a change in law, thereby entitling APRL to be restored to the same economic position as if the change had not occurred,' the court said while dismissing the appeals filed by the discoms. The apex court also upheld the tribunal's direction that compensation to Adani Power should be paid from the date of the CIL notification, along with carrying costs at Late Payment Surcharge rates specified in the PPA. The discoms thus, will now have to pay ₹186 crore to Adani Power in dues, the top court said.
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Business Standard
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Supreme Court rejects Rajasthan discoms' appeal in Adani Power case
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by Rajasthan's power distribution companies against a ruling by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel) in favour of Adani Power Rajasthan Ltd (APRL). A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal found no merit in the plea filed by Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL) and other Rajasthan discoms. The court upheld Aptel's view that a levy introduced by Coal India Ltd (CIL) constituted a change in law, entitling Adani Power to compensation under the terms of its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Background to the dispute The case stemmed from a December 2017 notification by CIL, introducing an evacuation facility charge (EFC) of ₹50 per tonne. Adani Power, which had entered into a PPA in 2010 to supply 1,200 MW to the Rajasthan discoms, argued that the levy triggered Article 10 of the PPA, which governed change-in-law provisions. Adani Power notified the discoms about the additional charge and sought compensation. When the matter remained unresolved, the company approached the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC), which partially allowed the claim. SC ruling reinforces 'change in law' interpretation The discoms subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which has now sided with Adani Power. Justice Sundresh, writing the 32-page judgment, held that the new statutory levy by a government body like CIL qualified as a change in law, thereby activating the restitution principle under the PPA. The court affirmed that compensation must be awarded to restore the power generator to the economic position it would have been in had the change not occurred. 'We find no merit in this appeal. The appeal stands dismissed accordingly,' the judgment concluded. Aptel had earlier ruled that APRL is entitled to full compensation for the change-in-law event related to evacuation facility charges, with effect from the date of the CIL notification.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
SC upholds Rs 186 cr payout by Rajasthan Discom to Adani Power over ‘change in law'
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an Appellate Tribunal for Electricity's order that asked Rajasthan discom to pay 'huge sum' of Rs 186 crore to Adani Power Rajasthan, now merged into Adani Power, as benefits due to 'change in law' along with carrying costs at Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) rates of their Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). A Bench led by Justice MM Sundresh said that it did not find any reason to interfere with the tribunal's April 2024 judgment. 'Liability has been fastened upon the appellants (discoms) under the agreement. The contention that the supplementary bill ought to have been raised earlier and, therefore, the payment can only be made thereafter has neither a factual basis nor a legal one,' it said. However, the court noted that Adani had not notified the change in law event immediately after the notification was issued in 2017. The four Rajasthan discoms - Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam, Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam, Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam (Now Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services) – had alleged that Aptel had allowed a huge margin of profit/windfall gain in favour of Adani, despite the fault being attributable to Adani for causing delay in litigation. In 2009, Adani Power in a competitive bidding process had bagged contract for supply of 1200 MW of power to be generated at Kawai Power Project, Rajasthan, to the discoms to meet the power requirements of the state. The four discoms had entered into a power PPA with Adani Power for supply of 1200 MW aggregate contracted capacity at a levelised tariff of Rs 3.238 per unit. The agreement was also approved by the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission. In 2017, Coal India , through a notification, imposed a levy of evacuation facility charges at Rs 50 per tonne applicable on every coal dispatch, except dispatch through rapid loading arrangement, with effect from December 20, 2017. Adani had notified Rajasthan Urja Vikas that the Coal India notification constituted a 'change in law' event and also filed a petition before the Commission seeking evacuation facility charges along with carrying costs. While the Commission in 2019 disallowed Adani's petition for the levy of evacuation charges by Coal India, the sectoral tribunal allowed the evacuation facility charges to be paid in favour of Adani Power from the date of notification and also granted relief of carrying cost at LPS rates of PPA to Adani. This was challenged by the Rajasthan discoms before the Supreme Court.
