The UT administration has challenged the Punjab and Haryana high court order to stay the privatisation of the power department in the Supreme Court by filing a special leave petition (SLP).
The move comes following a letter from the ministry of the power to the UT adviser on December 28 last year making the recommendation.
A copy of the letter issued by an undersecretary rank officer of the power ministry said, “Privatisation of the electricity in UTs is an important policy under Atma Nirbhar Bharat, which needs to be implemented in a time-bound manner. In this context, attention of the Chandigarh administration is drawn to the principles and limits of judicial review of policy choices made by the government. In view of the above, you are requested to immediately file an SLP before the Supreme Court of India to get the stay vacated immediately and keep the ministry informed of the progress in this regard.”
The date of hearing is yet to be fixed. The administration will take the services of senior lawyers of the Supreme Court to back its decision and is shoring up its defence.
Sources said senior officers of different department are in regular touch with each other. “Since it is a prestigious project of the central government, we are not leaving any stone unturned to get the stay vacated. The ministry is keeping a tab on each and every development in this regard,” sources said.
In the first week of December, the high court had ordered a stay on a petition filed by UT Powermen Union, fixing the next date of hearing in February.
