Jharkhand High Court
M/S Clean Solar Power (Jodhpur) ... vs Department Of Law on 27 September, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P.(C) No. 3330 of 2021
M/s Clean Solar Power (Jodhpur) Pvt. Ltd., through its Authorized
Signatory, Mr. Servesh Singh, Okhla Industrial Estate Phase III,
New Delhi ... ... Petitioner
Versus
Department of Law, Government of Jharkhand, through its Principal
Secretary, Ranchi & Ors. ... ... Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR
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For the Petitioner : Mr. A.K. Sinha, Sr. Advocate
Mr. Prem Mardi, Advocate
Mr. Aniket Prasoon, Advocate
Ms. Sweta Vashist, Advocate
For the Respondent Nos.1 & 2 : Mr. Sachin Kumar, AAG-II
For the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 : Mr. Manoj Kumar, Sr. SC, JBVNL
For the Respondent No. 6 : Mr. Niraj Kumar, AC to ASGI
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03/27.09.2021 The present writ petition is taken up today through Video
conferencing.
The instant writ petition has been filed for following
reliefs:
(a) For issuance of an appropriate writ, order or
direction directing the respondent nos. 1 and 2 to
at least appoint the legal member of the
respondent no. 3 - Jharkhand State Electricity
Regulatory Commission on an immediate and
forthwith basis, so as to complete the quorum of
the respondent no. 3 in terms of Regulation 10 of
the Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory
Commission (Conduct of Business) Regulations,
2016 read with paragraph 118 and 121 of the
judgment dated 12.04.2018 of the Hon'ble
Supreme Court rendered in the case of State of
Gujarat & Ors. Vs. Utility Users' Welfare
Association & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 14697 of
2015), (2018) 6 SCC 21 and orders dated
28.08.2020 and 20.01.2021 in Contempt Petition
(C) No. 429/2020 in C.A. No. 14697 of 2015 titled
as K.K. Agarwal Vs. Sanjiv Nandan Sahai & Anr., so
as to ensure that the functioning of the
respondent no. 3, which is the power sector
regulator in the State of Jharkhand, is resumed at
the earliest (Annexure-39 and 40 series to the writ
petition);
(b) For an issuance of appropriate writ, order or
direction directing the respondent nos. 1 and 2 to
further take steps towards the appointment of the
remaining members (i.e., Chairman and Technical
Member) of the respondent no. 3, in a time bound
manner;
(c) For issuance of an appropriate writ, order or
direction directing the respondent no. 3 to dispose
of Case No. 03 of 2020 as expeditiously as
possible, in a time bound manner, preferably
within 4 weeks, upon resumption of the
functioning of the respondent no. 3.
Mr. A.K. Sinha, the learned Senior Counsel for the
petitioner, submits that Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory
Commission (JSERC), which has been assigned several statutory
powers and functions by the Electricity Act, 2003, is non-functional for
last several months and the State Government has not taken any
sincere step to make it functional. Non-functioning of JSERC has put
several electricity regulatory measures in the State to a standstill.
Considering the said aspect of the matter, let a personal
affidavit be filed by the respondent no. 2 - the Principal Secretary,
Department of Energy, Government of Jharkhand within a week
specifying as to by what time Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory
Commission will be made functional.
Put up this case under the same heading on 05.10.2021.
(Rajesh Shankar, J.)
Manish
