Fadnavis flags 'pro-private' APTEL rulings in letter to PM, seeks intervention

New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention in the functioning of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) to protect the interests of state-run power firms, alleging a discernible pattern in recent rulings that, according to him, favours private power developers over public sector utilities and electricity regulators.

In the letter, Fadnavis contends that several recent decisions by one specific judicial member of the tribunal reflect an inconsistent application of settled legal principles, with binding Supreme Court and coordinate bench precedents being distinguished or diluted when the beneficiary is a private party, while being applied strictly in cases involving government-owned entities.

The Chief Minister cites multiple appeals involving issues such as change-in-law compensation, carrying costs, force majeure claims and contractual obligations to argue that private generating companies have received significant relief, whereas public sector undertakings have faced a different judicial approach.


He says such differential treatment raises questions over consistency in the application of established legal principles.

Fadnavis also points to a recent batch of appeals arising from tariff adoption for a battery energy storage procurement programme, alleging that the tribunal ignored clarifications issued by the Union power ministry and rejected an undertaking furnished by a state distribution utility after having considered it favourably during the hearing.

In another instance highlighted in the letter, the Chief Minister alleges that the tribunal granted ex parte interim relief to a private party against Maharashtra's electricity regulator and the state transmission utility on the first date of hearing, without hearing the public authorities or listing the matter for their response. He argues that the order has the potential to derail Maharashtra's ambitious data centre expansion plans.

Describing the developments as "inconsistencies" and "arbitrarily adverse treatment" of public utilities, Fadnavis has urged the Prime Minister to order an examination of the tribunal's functioning to ensure that justice is delivered consistently and the interests of government companies are adequately protected.

The letter seeks an institutional review of the tribunal's functioning rather than relief in any single case. There was no immediate response from APTEL or the Centre to the issues raised in the communication.