SC to hear Dabhol case on April 26

With little hope left for the settlement of disputes between Dabhol Power Company and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, the Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to hear the case on April 26 and give a judgment on the main issues.

When the case was taken up on Wednesday, the DPC counsel informed the court of not "much progress" on the talks.

Attorney-General Milon Banerjee said though the two main groups - GE and Bechtel -were willing to settle the disputes, "leaders of the capitalist world" were against doing so and the talks are at a delicate stage. However, he said, "We still have hope for a settlement."

The MSEB wanted an urgent hearing, interrupting the summer vacation of the court, so as to scotch adverse rumours.  The grapevine had it that country was earning a bad name and it was alleged that the law was delaying the matter. 

Taking up the case during the vacation would show the sincerity of the judiciary in the matter, MSEB counsel FS Nariman said.

A Bench headed by Justice YK Sabharwal, which had been trying to restart the $3 billion plant grounded since 2001, decided "There is no point in deferring the hearing". The judge said, "We have to go ahead with the decision".

Bannerjee submitted that Indian financial institutions with a stake of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) had made progress in talks with a consortium of 14 banks to arrive at a settlement.

The Overseas Private Investors' Corporation was also agreeable to a settlement. However, GE and Bechtel were "left out".

The Enron Saga

It may be recalled that these two companies had challenged the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and refused to appear before it despite being served a notice to do so. They have also challenged the locus standi of the government.

In fact, these two promoters of DPC had slapped a Rs 26,000 crore (Rs 260 billion) arbitration notice on the MSEB last year.  When DPC sought arbitration in London, the central government obtained a stay order against it from the Delhi High Court.

The crucial issue in this batch of appeals is the jurisdiction of the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission to decide on the legality of the revocation of the agreement between MSEB and DPC.

The Bombay High Court had held that MERC had the jurisdiction to deal with it, but DPC said the disputes should be decided according to the arbitration clause in the agreement, and not by MERC.

Therefore the Supreme Court is dealing with the appeal of the DPC now. There are several other cases pending in the same court and in the high courts relating to the jinxed Enron-promoted project.