New Delhi, Mar 18 : The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a miscellaneous application filed by Adani Power Rajasthan Ltd, now merged with Adani Power Ltd, seeking to get an outstanding late payment surcharge (LPS) of Rs 1,376.35 crores from Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL).

The court action comes amid the modified 2020 judgment concerning a power purchase agreement between the two companies.

The Bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sanjay Kumar held that filing a miscellaneous application was not the appropriate legal course taken by the Power company to claim the late payment surcharge and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Adani Power, to be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee.

The Apex Court said that the order passed in 2022 directing JVVNL to pay the LPS to Adani Power did not hold a binding effect, as it was merely a prima facie observation and not part of the hearing stage.

The matter pertains to a judgment passed by the Supreme Court in 2020 in which it upheld the decisions of the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity. According to the judgement, while Adani Power was entitled to a compensatory tariff, it was not eligible for the Late Payment Surcharge (LPS).

The Adani Power then filed a miscellaneous application before the Supreme Court today, seeking the LPS from JVVNL due to delays in receiving compensation mandated by the 2020 judgment which was dismissed.

UNI