Supreme Court Dismisses Adani Power’s Plea for ₹1,376 Crore Surcharge

On March 18, 2024, the Supreme Court rejected a miscellaneous application filed by Adani Power Rajasthan, which aimed to recover ₹1,376 crore in the late payment surcharge from Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam.

Supreme Court Dismisses Adani Power’s Application

On Monday, Adani Power’s plea to recover from Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam was dismissed by the Supreme Court. A bench comprising justices Anirudhha Bose and Sanjay Kumar stated that a miscellaneous application was not the proper legal course when seeking a review. They further imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on Adani Power for the same.

The Supreme Court also informed that it does not retain jurisdiction to entertain an application after a three-judge bench disposed of the appeal on August 31, 2020.

The judgement stated that “This is not an application for correcting any clerical or arithmetical error. Neither is it an application for an extension of time. A post-disposal application for modification and clarification of the order of disposal shall lie only in rare cases where the order passed by this court is executory in nature, and the directions of the court may become impossible to implement because of subsequent events or developments. The factual background of this application does not fit into that description.”

Back in 2020, the apex court had held that Adani Power was permitted to a compensatory tariff but not to a late payment surcharge in a power purchase agreement with the state Distribution Companies (DISCOM). Following this, in 2020, Adani Power Rajasthan filed an application seeking a late payment surcharge of ₹1376 crore from Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam.

The judgement on March 18, 2024, noted that Adani’s counsel had expressed their claim to withdraw the application in January, but the court did not agree.

It said, “Any plaintiff would be entitled to abandon a suit or abandon part of the claim made in the suit at any time after the institution of the suit, as provided in Rule 1 of Order XXIII of the Code. We, however, decided not to permit such simpliciter withdrawal, as the Rajasthan Discoms sought imposition of costs. Even if an applicant applies for withdrawal of an application, in exceptional cases, it would be within the court’s jurisdiction to examine the application and pass appropriate orders.”

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Shares of Adani Power opened at ₹528.95, touching the day’s low at ₹515.40 as of 1:26 PM on the NSE.

About Adani Power Ltd

Adani Power Limited is a part of the diversified Adani Group. The company is India’s largest private thermal power producer.

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