Interim stay no victory for discoms: Sood on CAG audit

Delhi’s Power Minister Ashish Sood said on Friday that the Supreme Court’s interim order regarding the CAG audit of the power distribution companies (DISCOMs) is a procedural order intended to preserve the status quo until the legal issues are examined in detail.

It is neither a final verdict on the merits of the case nor a clean chit to the companies.
Sood said that the apex court has fixed the matter for hearing on 15 July 2026, where the legal framework governing the audit mechanism will be examined.

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He added that the court recognized the important legal questions concerning transparency and accountability in Delhi’s power sector deserve detailed consideration.
Significantly, the Court ruled that the stay on the liquidation of the regulatory assets shall remain till further orders, Sood said.

Welcoming the protection extended by the Supreme Court to the public, he said it is a major relief for the people of Delhi because it prevents the immediate implementation of a mechanism that could have ultimately resulted in a massive financial burden on electricity consumers.

He said the interim stay is not a victory for the DISCOMs, it just pauses both the proposed CAG audit and the appointment of a Chartered Accountant until the Court finally decides the legal issue.

He emphasized that the court has not held that the CAG audit is illegal. It has not accepted the DISCOMs’ contentions and has simply preserved the existing position while examining the legal framework, he added.

“The Government of Delhi has proceeded throughout this matter with complete honesty, transparency and in accordance with law. We are fully prepared to place our case before the Supreme Court on 15 July and demonstrate why an independent and rigorous CAG audit is necessary to safeguard the interests of Delhi’s electricity consumers and taxpayers,” the minister said.

He emphasized that the government is fighting to protect Delhi’s consumers and cannot allow a potential burden of nearly Rs 38,500 crore to be transferred onto the people of Delhi through higher tariffs and surcharges without strict and independent financial scrutiny.
The resistance to the audit raises serious questions. The urgency with which private DISCOMs have attempted to prevent a CAG audit raises obvious questions, Sood said.

“If there is nothing to hide, there should be no objection to an independent public audit conducted under constitutional supervision,” the minister stated.
Taking a dig at the previous AAP government, he alleged that it had consistently opposed greater transparency in the functioning of private DISCOMs.
He also alleged that the persistent efforts being made to prevent an independent audit indicate that uncomfortable facts regarding the relationship between the previous government and the private distribution companies may eventually come before the public.
He assured that Delhi government remains committed to transparency, and the demand for a strict and intensive CAG audit is rooted in the principles of transparency, accountability and good governance.