CHHATTISGARH STATE POWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANY LTD versus CHHATTISGARH STATE ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION AND ANOTHER on 12 May 2022

798

SUPREME COURT REPORTS

[2022] 3 S.C.R.

ACHHATTISGARH STATE POWER DISTRIBUTIONCOMPANY LTD.

v.

CHHATTISGARH STATE ELECTRICITY REGULATORYCOMMISSION AND ANOTHER

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(Civil Appeal Nos. 2578-2579 of 2008)

MAY 12, 2022

[L. NAGESWARA RAO AND B. R. GAVAI, JJ.]

Electricity Act, 2003: s. 9 rw s. 2(8) – Electricity Rules, 2005C– r. 3 – Captive generation plant – Requirement of – On facts, SBPILestablished a captive generation plant and SBMPL is its sisterconcern – Petition by SBPIL to State Electricity RegulatoryCommission for providing open access and wheeling of powerthrough the transmission system of the appellant-State PowerDDistribution Company for capitive use by SBMPL – Allowed by theCommission holding that SBPIL was entitled to supply electricity toits sister concern SBMPL and same would qualify to be treated asown consumption within the ambit of s. 9 – Said order upheld byAPTEL – On appeal, held: Combined reading of s. 9 and 2(8) revealthat a person is entitled to construct, maintain or operate a captiveEgenerating plant and such a plant should be primarily for his ownuse – SBMPL holds 27.6% equity shares in SBPIL, as such, therequirement of not less than 26% of shares is fulfilled by SBMPLand since SBMPL holds 27.6% of the ownership, the use of electricityby it would be for captive use – Other requirement that theFconsumption of SBIPL and SBMPL together should not be less than51% of the power generated and admittedly, the joint consumptionby SBIPL and SBMPL is more than 51% – Thus, both the conditionsas provided u/r 3 are satisfied, thus, the order passed by theCommission and the APTEL justified.GDismissing the appeals, the Court HELD: 1.1 In view of Section 9 of the Electricity Act, 2003any person may construct, maintain or operate a captivegenerating plant and dedicated transmission lines. The firstproviso to Section 9 provides that the supply of electricity fromHthe captive generating plant through the grid shall be regulated in the same manner as the generating station of the generatingcompany. The second proviso to Section 9 of the said Act providesthat no licence shall be required under the said Act for supply ofelectricity generated from a captive generating plant to anylicensee in accordance with the provisions of the said Act andthe rules and regulations made thereunder and to any consumer,subject to the regulations made under sub-section (2) of Section42. Sub-section (2) of Section 9 provides that every person, whohas constructed a captive generating plant and maintains andoperates such plant, shall have the right to open access for thepurposes of carrying electricity from his captive generating plantto the destination of his use. The first proviso to sub-section (2)of Section 9 provides that such open access shall be subject toavailability of adequate transmission facility and such availabilityof transmission facility shall be determined by the CentralTransmission Utility or the State Transmission Utility, as the casemay be. The second proviso to sub-section (2) of Section 9provides that if there is any dispute regarding the availability oftransmission facility, it shall be adjudicated upon by theAppropriate Commission. [Para 11][807-A-E]

1.2 Clause (8) of Section 2 of the Act defines “Captivegenerating plant”. It states that “Captive generating plant” meansa power plant set up by any person to generate electricity primarilyfor his own use and includes a power plant set up by any co-operative society or association of persons for generatingelectricity primarily for use of members of such co-operativesociety or association. [Para 12][807-E-F]

1.3 A combined reading of Section 9 and Clause (8) of Section2 of the Act would reveal that a person is entitled to construct,maintain or operate a captive generating plant. Such a plant shouldbe primarily for his own use. Clause (8) of Section 2 of the saidAct would further show that it includes a power plant set up byany co-operative society or association of persons for generatingelectricity. The requirement is that it should be primarily for theuse of the members of such co-operative society or association.The definition of “person” under Clause (49) of Section 2 is wide AB

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Aenough, to include any company or body corporate or associationor body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, or artificialjuridical person. [Paras 13, 14, 15][807-G-H; 808-A-B]

1.4 A person, to get benefit under Section 9, could be anindividual or a body corporate or association or body of individuals,Bwhether incorporated or not. It could thus be seen that even anassociation of corporate bodies can establish a captive powerplant. The only requirement would be that the said plant must beestablished primarily for their own use. The fourth proviso to s.42(2) reveal that surcharge would not be leviable in case openaccess is provided to a person who has established a captiveCgenerating plant for carrying the electricity to the destination ofhis own use. [Para 16][808-B-D]

1.5 Sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of the Electricity Rules, 2005provides that no power plant shall qualify as a “Captive GeneratingPlant” under Section 9 read with Clause (8) of Section 2 unlessDthe conditions stated therein are fulfilled. The first requirementis that not less than 26% of the ownership is held by the captiveuser(s). The second requirement is that not less than 51% of theaggregate electricity generated in such plant, determined on anannual basis, is consumed for the captive use. The second provisoEto Rule 3(1)(a)(ii) provides that in case of association of persons,the captive user(s) shall hold not less than 26% of the ownershipof the plant in aggregate and such captive user(s) shall consumenot less than 51% of the electricity generated, determined on anannual basis, in proportion to their shares in ownership of thepower plant within a variation not exceeding 10%. [Para 19][809-FE-H]

1.6 Admittedly, SBMPL holds 27.6% equity shares inSBPIL. As such, the requirement of not less than 26% of sharesis fulfilled by SBMPL. Even an association of corporate bodiesGcan establish a power plant. Since SBMPL holds 27.6% of theownership, the use of electricity by it would be for captive useunder the provisions of the said Act. The other requirement wouldbe that the consumption of SBIPL and SBMPL together shouldnot be less than 51% of the power generated. Admittedly, the H

joint consumption by SBIPL and SBMPL is more than 51%. Assuch, both the conditions as provided under Rule 3 of the saidRules are satisfied. [Para 20][809-H; 810-A-B]

1.7 The provision with respect to establishing captive powerplant has been made with a view to not only securing reliable,quality and cost-effective power but also to facilitate creation ofemployment opportunities through speedy and efficient growthof industry. The National Electricity Policy, 2005 further statesthat the provision relating to captive power plants to be set up bya group of consumers has been made primarily for enabling smalland medium industries or other consumers that may notindividually be in a position to set up plant of optimal size, in acost-effective manner. The efficient expansion of small andmedium industries across the country would lead to creation ofenormous employment opportunities. Clause 5.2.26 of the saidPolicy further states that the captive and standby generatingstations in India have surplus capacity that could be supplied tothe grid continuously or during certain time periods. The saidPolicy is issued u/s. 3 and as such, has a statutory flavour. In anycase, the said Policy is in tune with the provisions as contained inSection 9 and Clause (8) of Section 2 of the Act. A liberal provisionhas been made in Section 9 so as to promote establishment ofcaptive power plants. The interpretation which advances theobject and purpose of the Act, has to be preferred. Thus, no caseis made out for interfering with the order passed by theCommission and the APTEL. [Para 22-25][811-C-H; 812-B]

Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution CompanyLimited v. JSW Steel Limited and Others (2022) 2 SCC742; Administrator, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspurv. Dattatraya Dahankar, Advocate and Another (1992)1 SCC 361 : [1991] 3 Suppl. SCR 112; S. Gopal Reddyv. State of A.P. (1996) 4 SCC 596 : [1996] 3 Suppl.SCR 439; Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation andAnother v. Nilaybhai R. Thakore and Another (1999) 8SCC 139 : [1999] 3 Suppl. SCR 647 – referred to.

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CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 2578-2579 of 2008.

From the Judgment and Order dated 06.12.2007 of the AppellateTribunal for Electricity, New Delhi in Appeal No.164 of 2006 and RevisionCPetition No.1 of 2007.

With

Civil Appeal Nos. 2941-2942 and 2868 of 2008

Nikhil Nayyar, Sr. Adv., Apoorv Kurup, Ms. Nidhi Mittal, OjaswaDPathak, Dhananjay Baijal, Ms. Aparna Arun, Advs. for the Appellant.

Naveen R. Nath, Sr. Adv., Ms. Swapna Seshadari, Pramod Dayal,Nikunj Dayal, Ms. Devi Nair, Aditya Dubey, Manish Paliwal, VikashKumar, Nikhil Sharma, Advs. for the Respondents.

EThe Judgment of the Court was delivered by

B. R. GAVAI, J.

1. These appeals challenge the judgment dated 6[th] December 2007passed by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (hereinafter referred toas the “APTEL”), thereby dismissing the appeals filed by the presentFappellant.

2. The facts in brief giving rise to the present appeals are asunder:

M/s Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd. (hereinafter referred toas “SBPIL”) has established a Captive Generation Plant. M/s ShriGBajrang Metallics and Power Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “SBMPL”)is a sister concern of SBPIL. SBPIL submitted a petition to theChhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (hereinafterreferred to as “the Commission”) for providing open access and wheeling of power through the transmission system of the appellant for captiveHuse by SBMPL. The petition of the SBPIL was for permission to wheel

19 lakh units, corresponding to 13 MW, to SBMPL. It was stated in thesaid petition that SBMPL holds 27.6% of the equity shares of SBPILand that more than 51% of the electricity generated by the captive powerplant would be consumed by them. It was submitted that the generatingcapacity of the captive generation plant set up by SBPIL would be 103.68MU per annum. It was further submitted that out of the said 103.68 MUper annum power generated, 13.22 MU per annum would be utilized inits sponge iron plant. It was further submitted that 54 MU per annumwould be supplied to SBMPL through the appellant grid and the balancewould be sold to the appellant.

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3. The said petition came to be resisted by the appellant. It wascontended by the appellant that SBPIL holds more than 72% of theshares of the company. However, its consumption would be limited onlyto 14.16% (13.22 MU), whereas the consumption of SBMPL holding26.67% shares, would be 57.87% (54 MU). It was submitted that thiswas not proportionate to the ownership of the power plant.

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4. The Commission, vide its order dated 14[th] October 2005, rejectedthe contention of the appellant and held that SBPIL was entitled to supplyelectricity to its sister concern SBMPL and the same would qualify to betreated as ‘own consumption’ within the ambit of Section 9 read withSection 2(8) of the Electricity Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as “thesaid Act”) and Rule 3 of the Electricity Rules, 2005 (hereinafter referredto as “the said Rules”). While allowing the said petition, the Commissionimposed the following conditions:

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(i) “The consumption of electricity by the captive users shallnot be less than 51% over a financial year, and in case it isnot so it would be treated as ‘supply of electricity by aFgenerating company’ in terms of provision of rule 3(2) ofthe Rules.

(ii) The CSEB is entitled to charge for wheeling of electricityand levy other charges as per their present rates whichshall be subject to revision as per the provisions in regulationsGon the charges for open access to be notified by theCommission shortly.

(iii) The company may enter into necessary agreement withthe CSEB for the sale of balance power under the presentterms and conditions of the CSEB, is subject to revision asper the directions of the Commission from time to time.”

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5. Being aggrieved thereby, the appellant preferred appeals beforethe APTEL. The said appeals came to be dismissed by the APTEL videimpugned judgment dated 6[th] December 2007. Being aggrieved thereby,the present appeals.

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6. We have heard Shri Nikhil Nayyar, learned Senior CounselBappearing on behalf of the appellant and Shri Naveen R. Nath, learnedSenior Counsel and Smt. Swapna Seshadari, learned counsel appearingon behalf of the respondents.

7. Shri Nayyar submitted that the order passed by the Commissionand the impugned judgment passed by the APTEL are contrary to theCplain language used in Rule 3 of the said Rules. He submitted that SBMPLis a sister concern of SBPIL which has established the captive powerplant. It is submitted that unless SBPIL consumes 51% of the aggregateelectricity generated by it, it will not be entitled to get the benefit underSection 9 of the said Act. He submitted that in sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 ofthe said Rules, the words used are “Captive Generating Plant”. HeDsubmitted that upon a plain and literal interpretation of Rule 3 of the saidRules, it will be abundantly clear that unless the sister concern establishescaptive generating plant utilization of 51% of the electricity generated, itwill not be entitled to get benefit under Section 9 of the said Act.

8. Shri Nath submitted that the Commission, as well as the APTEL,Ehas rightly construed the provisions of the said Act and the said Rules.He submitted, that this Court, in the case of Maharashtra StateElectricity Distribution Company Limited v. JSW Steel Limited andOthers[1], has held that no permission is required from the Commissionfor supply of electricity for its own use. He further submitted that thisFCourt has also held that insofar as captive users are concerned, they arenot liable to pay the additional surcharge under Section 42(4) of the saidAct.

9. Smt. Seshadari, learned counsel appearing on behalf of theCommission submitted that if the arguments advanced on behalf of theGappellant are accepted, the same would be contrary to the provisions ofthe said Act. She, therefore, submitted that the order passed by theCommission and the impugned judgment passed by the APTEL warrantno interference.

H1 (2022) 2 SCC 742

10. For appreciating the rival contentions, it will be apposite torefer to Clauses (8) and (49) of Section 2 as well as Section 9 and sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 42 of the said Act, which read thus:

“2. Definitions.-

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(8) “Captive generating plant” means a power plant set up by anyperson to generate electricity primarily for his own use and includesa power plant set up by any cooperative society or association ofpersons for generating electricity primarily for use of members ofsuch cooperative society or association;

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(49) “person” shall include any company or body corporate orassociation or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, orartificial juridical person;

9. Captive generation.—(1) Notwithstanding anything containedin this Act, a person may construct, maintain or operate a captivegenerating plant and dedicated transmission lines:

Provided that the supply of electricity from the captivegenerating plant through the grid shall be regulated in the samemanner as the generating station of a generating company:

Provided further that no licence shall be required under thisAct for supply of electricity generated from a captive generatingplan to any licensee in accordance with the provisions of this Actand the rules and regulations made thereunder and to any consumersubject to the regulations made under sub-section (2) of Section42.

(2) Every person, who has constructed a captive generatingplant and maintains and operates such plant, shall have the rightto open access for the purposes of carrying electricity from hiscaptive generating plant to the destination of his use:

Provided that such open access shall be subject to availabilityof adequate transmission facility and such availability oftransmission facility shall be determined by the CentralTransmission Utility or the State Transmission Utility, as the casemay be:

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Provided further that any dispute regarding the availabilityof transmission facility shall be adjudicated upon by the AppropriateCommission.

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42. Duties of distribution licensee and open access.—(1) Itshall be the duty of a distribution licensee to develop and maintainan efficient, co-ordinated and economical distribution system inhis area of supply and to supply electricity in accordance with theprovisions contained in this Act.

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(2) The State Commission shall introduce open access insuch phases and subject to such conditions, (including the crosssubsidies, and other operational constraints) as may be specifiedwithin one year of the appointed date by it and in specifying theextent of open access in successive phases and in determiningthe charges for wheeling, it shall have due regard to all relevantfactors including such cross-subsidies, and other operationalconstraints:

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Provided that such open access shall be allowed on paymentof a surcharge in addition to the charges for wheeling as may bedetermined by the State Commission:

Provided further that such surcharge shall be utilised toEmeet the requirements of current level of cross-subsidy withinthe area of supply of the distribution licensee:

Provided also that such surcharge and cross-subsidies shallbe progressively reduced in the manner as may be specified bythe State Commission:

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Provided also that such surcharge shall not be leviable incase open access is provided to a person who has established acaptive generating plant for carrying the electricity to the destinationof his own use:

Provided also that the State Commission shall, not later thanfive years from the date of commencement of the Electricity(Amendment) Act, 2003, by regulations, provide such open accessto all consumers who require a supply of electricity where themaximum power to be made available at any time exceeds onemegawatt.

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11. It could thus be seen that in view of Section 9 of the said Act,any person may construct, maintain or operate a captive generating plantand dedicated transmission lines. The first proviso to Section 9 of thesaid Act provides that the supply of electricity from the captive generatingplant through the grid shall be regulated in the same manner as thegenerating station of the generating company. The second proviso toSection 9 of the said Act provides that no licence shall be required underthe said Act for supply of electricity generated from a captive generatingplant to any licensee in accordance with the provisions of the said Actand the rules and regulations made thereunder and to any consumer,subject to the regulations made under sub-section (2) of Section 42 ofthe said Act. Sub-section (2) of Section 9 of the said Act provides thatevery person, who has constructed a captive generating plant andmaintains and operates such plant, shall have the right to open accessfor the purposes of carrying electricity from his captive generating plantto the destination of his use. The first proviso to sub-section (2) of Section9 of the said Act provides that such open access shall be subject toavailability of adequate transmission facility and such availability oftransmission facility shall be determined by the Central TransmissionUtility or the State Transmission Utility, as the case may be. The secondproviso to sub-section (2) of Section 9 of the said Act provides that ifthere is any dispute regarding the availability of transmission facility, itshall be adjudicated upon by the Appropriate Commission.

12. Clause (8) of Section 2 of the said Act defines “Captivegenerating plant”. It states that “Captive generating plant” means a powerplant set up by any person to generate electricity primarily for his ownuse and includes a power plant set up by any co-operative society orassociation of persons for generating electricity primarily for use ofmembers of such co-operative society or association.

13. Clause (49) of Section 2 of the said Act defines “person”. Itstates that “person” shall include any company or body corporate orassociation or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, or artificialjuridical person.

14. A combined reading of Section 9 and Clause (8) of Section 2of the said Act would reveal that a person is entitled to construct, maintainor operate a captive generating plant. Such a plant should be primarilyfor his own use. Clause (8) of Section 2 of the said Act would furthershow that it includes a power plant set up by any co-operative society or A

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Aassociation of persons for generating electricity. The requirement is thatit should be primarily for the use of the members of such co-operativesociety or association.

15. The definition of “person” is wide enough to include anycompany or body corporate or association or body of individuals, whetherBincorporated or not, or artificial juridical person.

16. It is thus clear that a person, to get benefit under Section 9 ofthe said Act, could be an individual or a body corporate or association orbody of individuals, whether incorporated or not. It could thus be seenthat even an association of corporate bodies can establish a captiveCpower plant. The only requirement would be that the said plant must beestablished primarily for their own use. The fourth proviso to sub-section(2) of Section 42 of the said Act would also reveal that surcharge wouldnot be leviable in case open access is provided to a person who hasestablished a captive generating plant for carrying the electricity to thedestination of his own use.D

17. Therefore, the question that would arise is as to whether theopen access for transmitting electricity from SBPIL to SBMPL wouldbe for own use or not.

18. We find that Rule 3 of the said Rules would clarify the position,which reads thus:E

“3. Requirements of Captive Generating Plant.—(1) Nopower plant shall qualify as a ‘captive generating plant’ underSection 9 read with clause (8) of Section 2 of the Act unless—

(a) in case of a power plant—

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(i) not less than twenty-six per cent of the ownership isheld by the captive user(s), and

(ii) not less than fifty-one per cent of the aggregateelectricity generated in such plant, determined on anannual basis, is consumed for the captive use:

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Provided that in case of power plant set up by registeredcooperative society, the conditions mentioned under paragraphsat (i) and (ii) above shall be satisfied collectively by themembers of the co-operative society:

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Provided further that in case of association of persons, thecaptive user(s) shall hold not less than twenty-six per cent ofthe ownership of the plant in aggregate and such captive user(s)shall consume not less than fifty-one per cent of the electricitygenerated, determined on an annual basis, in proportion to theirshares in ownership of the power plant within a variation notexceeding ten per cent; (b) in case of a generating station owned by a company formedas special purpose vehicle for such generating station, a unit orunits of such generating station identified for captive use andnot the entire generating station satisfy(ies) the conditionscontained in paragraphs (i) and (ii) of sub-clause (a) aboveincluding—

Explanation.—(1) The electricity required to be consumed bycaptive users shall be determined with reference to such generatingunit or units in aggregate identified for captive use and not withreference to generating station as a whole; and

(2) The equity shares to be held by the captive user(s) in thegenerating station shall not be less than twenty-six per cent of theproportionate of the equity of the company related to the generatingunit or units identified as the captive generating plant.”

19. The provisions made in Rule 3 of the said Rules are clear.Sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of the said Rules provides that no power plantshall qualify as a “Captive Generating Plant” under Section 9 read withClause (8) of Section 2 of the said Act unless the conditions stated thereinare fulfilled. The first requirement is that not less than 26% of theownership is held by the captive user(s). The second requirement is thatnot less than 51% of the aggregate electricity generated in such plant,determined on an annual basis, is consumed for the captive use. Thesecond proviso to Rule 3(1)(a)(ii) of the said Rules provides that in caseof association of persons, the captive user(s) shall hold not less than26% of the ownership of the plant in aggregate and such captive user(s)shall consume not less than 51% of the electricity generated, determinedon an annual basis, in proportion to their shares in ownership of thepower plant within a variation not exceeding 10%.

20. Admittedly, SBMPL holds 27.6% equity shares in SBPIL. Assuch, the requirement of not less than 26% of shares is fulfilled by A

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ASBMPL. As already discussed hereinabove, even an association ofcorporate bodies can establish a power plant. Since SBMPL holds 27.6%of the ownership, the use of electricity by it would be for captive useunder the provisions of the said Act. The other requirement would bethat the consumption of SBIPL and SBMPL together should not be lessthan 51% of the power generated. Admittedly, the joint consumption byBSBIPL and SBMPL is more than 51%. As such, both the conditions asprovided under Rule 3 of the said Rules are satisfied.

21. We find that it will also be appropriate to refer to the NationalElectricity Policy, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as “the said Policy”) asnotified by the Government of India, in exercise of its powers underCSection 3 of the said Act, on 12[th] February 2005. Clauses 5.2.24 to5.2.26 deal with the “Captive Generation”, which read thus:

“Captive Generation

5.2.24 The liberal provision in the Electricity Act, 2003 withDrespect to setting up of captive power plant has been madewith a view to not only securing reliable, quality and cost-effective power but also to facilitate creation of employmentopportunities through speedy and efficient growth ofindustry.

E5.2.25 The provision relating to captive power plants to beset up by group of consumers is primarily aimed at enablingsmall and medium industries or other consumers that maynot individually be in a position to set up plant of optimalsize in a cost-effective manner. It needs to be noted thatefficient expansion of small and medium industries acrossFthe country would lead to creation of enormous employmentopportunities.

5.2.26 A large number of captive and standby generatingstations in India have surplus capacity that could be suppliedto the grid continuously or during certain time periods.GThese plants offer a sizeable and potentially competitivecapacity that could be harnessed for meeting demand forpower. Under the Act, captive generators have access tolicensees and would get access to consumers who areallowed open access. Grind inter-connections for captive H

generators shall be facilitated as per Section 30 of the Act.This should be done on priority basis to enable captive generationto become available as distributed generation along the grid.Towards this end, non-conventional energy sources including co-generation could also play a role. Appropriate commercialarrangements would need to be instituted between licensees andthe captive generators for harnessing of spare capacity energyfrom captive power plants. The appropriate RegulatoryCommission shall exercise regulatory oversight on suchcommercial arrangements between captive generators andlicensees and determine tariffs when a licensee is the off-taker ofpower from captive plant.”

[emphasis supplied]

22. It could thus be seen that the provision with respect toestablishing captive power plant has been made with a view to not onlysecuring reliable, quality and cost-effective power but also to facilitatecreation of employment opportunities through speedy and efficient growthof industry. The said Policy further states that the provision relating tocaptive power plants to be set up by a group of consumers has beenmade primarily for enabling small and medium industries or otherconsumers that may not individually be in a position to set up plant ofoptimal size, in a cost-effective manner. It also states that the efficientexpansion of small and medium industries across the country would leadto creation of enormous employment opportunities. Clause 5.2.26 of thesaid Policy further states that the captive and standby generating stationsin India have surplus capacity that could be supplied to the grid continuouslyor during certain time periods.

23. The said Policy is issued under Section 3 of the said Act andas such, has a statutory flavour. In any case, the said Policy is in tunewith the provisions as contained in Section 9 and Clause (8) of Section 2of the said Act. A liberal provision has been made in Section 9 of the saidAct so as to promote establishment of captive power plants.

24. It is a settled position of law that the interpretation whichadvances the object and purpose of the Act, has to be preferred. Areliance in this respect can be placed on the judgments of this Court inthe cases of Administrator, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur v.

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ADattatraya Dahankar, Advocate and Another[2], S. Gopal Reddy v.State of A.P.[3] and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Anotherv. Nilaybhai R. Thakore and Another[4].

25. We are, therefore, of the considered view that no case ismade out for interfering with the order dated 14[th] October 2005 passedBby the Commission and the impugned judgment dated 6[th] December2007 passed by the APTEL.

26. In the result, the present appeals are found without merit andas such, are dismissed.

27. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of in theCabove terms. No order as to costs.

Nidhi Jain

Appeals dismissed.

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2 (1992) 1 SCC 361

3 (1996) 4 SCC 596

4 (1999) 8 SCC 139