The Supreme Court has directed the maintenance of status quo in the dispute concerning the audit of Delhi’s private electricity distribution companies. This order puts a hold on further actions related to the proposed audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the appointment of an independent chartered accountant.
A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Shree Chandrashekhar issued this interim order while hearing appeals by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) challenging the orders of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). The apex court noted the importance of the legal question raised by the controversy and instructed that status quo be preserved until further orders.
The Supreme Court scheduled the matter for further hearing on July 15 and stayed the relevant portion of APTEL’s judgment that directed the DERC to engage an independent chartered accountant for the audit. Additionally, the court ruled that the CAG should not proceed with the audit during this period.
The origin of the dispute dates back to a previous Supreme Court judgment on tariff orders issued by the DERC between 2011 and 2014. In 2025, the Supreme Court expressed concerns over the accumulation of regulatory assets by electricity distribution companies and mandated a thorough audit into the circumstances of such accumulation. However, the judgment did not specify the authority responsible for conducting the audit.
