Delhi’s discoms refusing to part with account details, CAG tells high court

Power distribution companies in Delhi have refused to allow the Comptroller and Auditor General to audit their accounts, the state auditor told the Delhi High Court on Monday. The three discoms were not providing documents for carrying out their audit, counsel for the CAG told the court.

The power distribution companies supplying electricity to Delhi discoms have 49 per cent owned by the Delhi government, while private companies own majority 51 per cent in the joint ventures.

The discoms are refusing to provide documents sought by the CAG and are instead demanding that the court hear their appeal against the order of the single-judge of the high court directing them to cooperate with the audit, CAG's counsel submitted before a bench of acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice S Mridul.

The discoms want their appeal to be heard on 7 March. They also sought an adjournment of the case on the grounds that the matter pertaining to CAG audit of telecom firms is coming before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Appearing for the Delhi government, advocate Prashant Bhushan, on the other hand, said, "This appeal does not lie as they (discoms) are in contempt of the single judge's order".

Senior advocate Aman Lekhi, appearing for CAG, also agreed with Bhushan's submission that the discoms - Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firms, BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd - are in clear violation of the court order.

Bhushan and Lekhi sought that the matter be listed before the division bench which is hearing a PIL by a joint association of residents associations who are seeking CAG audit of discoms.

The court, however, renotified the matter before it on 24 March.

The three discoms have challenged the 24 January order of the single judge who had not only refused to stall the CAG audit of the discoms but also asked them to furnish the details sought by the government auditor.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led government had ordered a CAG audit of the three discoms, but the companies refused to part with account details saying the government auditor is not empowered to scrutinise accounts of private companies. Instead, the discoms initially moved the High Court against the move.

The three private firms had come into being in 2002 when the then Delhi government decided to privatise power distribution.