Supreme Court orders replacement of Justice Narasimha Reddy as head of Power Inquiry Commission

NEW DELHI: The Congress government in Telangana faced a setback as the Supreme Court ordered the replacement of the chairman of the power inquiry commission.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud deemed the current chairman's actions inappropriate, particularly the holding of a press meet to express opinions on the ongoing case.

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by BRS President and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao regarding the power inquiry commission. The Chief Justice criticised the commission chairman for holding a press meet and expressing opinions, stating that it was improper to do so. The court ordered the immediate replacement of Justice Narasimha Reddy, the current chairman. The Telangana government informed the court that the name of the new chairman would be announced by 2 pm.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra presented arguments on behalf of the state government, while Mukul Rohatgi argued for KCR. Rohatgi questioned how a fair trial could be conducted on power purchase agreements while tribunals were already in place. He argued that the electricity purchases were made due to a power crisis following the formation of the new state and were done at a rate lower than the market rate, at only Rs 3.90 per unit. Rohatgi pointed out that KCR, as the former and current Chief Minister, had filed several RTI applications on the matter, suggesting that the inquiry was a vindictive action. He argued that with the presence of the ERC, a separate inquiry commission was unnecessary.

Rohatgi further explained that there were provisions for purchasing electricity without tenders during emergencies and that the purchases were made from the state government itself. He also clarified that the subcritical technology used for the Bhadradri thermal plant was implemented through government entities.