Khaitan & Co. advised CESC Limited in appeal before APTEL concerning tariff adoption for inter-state supply
Khaitan & Co. successfully represented CESC Limited (CESC) in a significant legal dispute before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) concerning an appeal filed by AMP Energy Green Seventeen Pvt. Ltd. (AMP).
The Appeal challenged an order passed by the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC), wherein the Commission exercised jurisdiction to adopt the tariff under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003 and approved the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) executed between CESC and AMP for inter-state supply, following competitive bidding.
APTEL, vide its judgment dated 28 April 2025, dismissed the Appeal, including the application seeking condonation of a 374-day delay in filing. APTEL rejected AMP’s submission that a jurisdictional issue can be raised at any stage, regardless of delay, rendering the challenged order non-est in law.
In arriving at its decision, APTEL emphasized the absence of sufficient cause to condone such an inordinate delay and noted the broader implications of accepting AMP’s arguments—stating that it would create a precedent where appeals challenging jurisdiction could be entertained at any time, undermining the principles of limitation.
This judgment is notable as it addresses the strategic misuse of jurisdictional objections to justify procedural lapses.
The Khaitan & Co. team was led by Divya Chaturvedi (Partner), Saransh Shaw (Counsel) and Jai Dhanani (Senior Associate), who advised and represented CESC on all aspects of the litigation.
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