New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has upheld the 2023 decision of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to reallocate 2.33 gigawatt of power generating capacity from Azure Power India to Adani Green Energy.
The matter pertains to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Ravi Sharma, who alleged irregularities in the competitive bidding process for solar power projects and said it had resulted in loss to the public exchequer. In this regard, he had sought setting aside of the reallocation of 2.3 GW portion of Azure Power to Adani vide a December 2023 power purchase agreement (PPA) by SECI, and also a probe by investigative agencies.
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However, a division bench comprising Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vinod Kumar said, “We are not inclined to enter into the arena of investigation and fishing and roving enquiry, simply because the petitioner smells some irregularity in the process.
“The so-called increase of capacity and allocation of Azure Power’s capacity to Adani Green may at first blush appear to be an irregularity, but the same cannot be examined at the instance of the petitioner, who has no axe to grind so far as bidding process or competitive bidding is concerned,” it said.
Such grievance, if at all is to be raised, can be raised by a bidder who has taken part in the bidding process, the court said, rejecting Sharma’s PIL. The loss, if any, has been caused to the competitive bidder or the prospective bidder, for whom the petitioner cannot be allowed to voice and litigate, the court said.
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Unless Sharma demonstrates that any loss or injury has been caused to the public or to the public exchequer, the courts should not interfere; that too, at the instance of a so-called public interest litigant, the judges said, adding that an already finalised process and a contract which was granted two years ago, cannot be interfered with or unsettled simply because there have been some irregularities.
According to the judges, the price per unit at which SECI will purchase the power had been reduced after the reallocation of the capacity. Hence, it cannot be said that the public exchequer had been made to suffer. “According to us, the jury trial demanded by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which the petitioner has placed before us (with a contention that it is a jury report), does not even indicate any loss to public or public exchequer,” the court said.
Sharma had alleged that reallocation of power generating capacity to Adani Green was illegal and contrary to norms, adding that these illegalities had been committed to favour Adani Green and Azure Power because of their clout.
