The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) has rejected the New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) appeal and condonation of delay application. It observed that delays stemming from internal departmental inefficiencies or administrative procedures cannot be grounds for condoning delay without compelling reasons.
The Tribunal observed that every appeal must be filed within the limitation period, which can be extended only if the appellant can demonstrate “sufficient cause” for any delay. The Tribunal examined the reasons for NDMC’s delay, which spanned over a year and found the delay due to the internal administrative processes and departmental inefficiencies.
NDMC claimed that as a government body, decisions on filing an appeal required multi-level administrative clearances, which contributed to the delay. Additionally, NDMC cited the diversion of resources during the G20 Summit as a factor for the prolonged delay in filing.
The Tribunal observed that the appellant’s timeline of events, noting specific periods where NDMC’s inactivity remained unexplained, despite nearly nine months of delay post-G-20 Summit activities.
Relying on the judical precedents, the Tribunal reiterated that sufficient cause implies an adequate and compelling reason directly preventing the filing, which must be backed by supporting documents and evidence of efforts taken to overcome the delay.
The Appeal was filed by NDMC against the order wherein the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission held that the NDMC being a deemed distribution Licensee, is, after coming into force of the Electricity Act, 2003 would be liable to pay annual/license fee with effect from F.Y. 2003-04 onwards along with accrued interest on account of delayed payment up to the date of 31.12.2022.
The appeal was filed after 371 days from the DERC’s order.
NDMC was represented by Kanika Agnihotri and Saad Mustafa Shervani. DERC was represented by Saurav Agrawal, Anshuman Chowdhury, Saloni Paliwal.
