Delhi HC verdict on CAG audit: Will appeal in SC, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

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“I am committed to providing cheap electricity to the people of Delhi. Our fight will continue… Del HC order is a temporary setback for the people of Del. Del govt will soon file an appeal (sic),” Kejriwal tweeted. Soon after the high court pronounced its verdict, senior AAP leaders voiced their protest, saying the party ‘disagrees with the verdict’.

In an official statement, the AAP said, “There is unanimity in the national capital across all walks of life that the discoms have indulged in large-scale loot since more than a decade and a clear case was made out for a thorough and impartial audit of their account books”.

“All major political parties, which have or either had a presence in the Delhi assembly have repeatedly promised in their election manifestos that if voted to power, they would get a CAG audit of discoms done. The findings of the CAG draft report which have been widely reported in the media and contents of which have not been denied by any concerned party, make it crystal clear that the discoms indulged in a mega financial scam… the discoms inflated their regulatory assets claims by thousands of crores and the CAG draft findings have put this exaggerated claim at Rs 8,000 crore,” it added.

Senior party leaders alleged that privatisation of electricity distribution in Delhi in 2002-03 resulted in discoms acquiring prime government properties at very low prices and they were allowed to hike electricity tariffs regularly, through a well organised corporate-political nexus.

“How electricity tariffs were fixed, were the rates at par with neighbouring states, how and at which rate discoms purchased electricity — all these are serious issues which require threadbare examination and the AAP will vigorously continue its fight to expose the discoms fraud,” the statement added. The discoms are a 51:49 per cent joint venture between the private companies and the Delhi government.