HC upholds CERC powers

The Delhi High Court has declined to entertain the plea of a power trading company for declaring certain regulations of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) Regulations, 2006 as constitutionally invalid.

In fact, a division bench of the high court has upheld the regulations which empower the commission to either cancel or not grant licence to a trading company if the latter is facing legal proceedings.

However, the high court has warned the commission to exercise its right judiciously and take only those legal proceedings into account which bear on the suitability of the applicant to secure a licence. Also, the CERC's ground of rejection should be justified and has to be recorded in writing, it has said.

A division bench of Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice J P Singh made these observations while disposing of the writ petition of power trading company Global Energy Ltd, whose request to grant it an industrial trading licence was rejected on account of a complaint received by the CERC.