CHENNAI: With another round of power tariff hike around the corner, a PIL (public interest litigation) filed in the Madras high court has questioned the legality of the Tamil Nadu government’s policy move on technical grounds.
The PIL, filed by senior advocate R Gandhi, wants the court to restrain the authorities from announcing and giving effect to power tariff revision in the state, saying the mandatory provisions of the Electricity Act has not been followed by them.
The matter is expected to come up for hearing on Monday before the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan.
However, it is not clear whether the case would be argued on Monday, as the Madras High Court Advocates Association and other lawyers forums have announced court boycott, protesting against the death sentence imposed on five Indian fishermen by a court in Sri Lanka.
In his PIL, Gandhi has said the tariff revision exercise has been initiated without the “aggregate revenue requirements,” and hence illegal.
He wants the court to restrain the authorities from proceeding with the issue any further.
The Tamil Nadu government and its power managers have already initiated a public hearing ahead of the tariff revision, and only announcement of tariff hike and its notification remain to be done.
Courts usually adopt a hands-off approach when it comes policy decisions, especially concerning economic issues, unless the exercise is ‘shockingly arbitrary.’
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