Overview
- The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Comptroller and Auditor General’s audit of Delhi’s three private distribution companies and ordered status quo until a detailed hearing on July 15, 2026.
- Delhi’s Power Department had on July 1–2 formally entrusted the CAG under Sections 20(1) and 20(3) of the CAG Act to conduct a “strict and intensive” three‑month audit of BRPL, BYPL and TPDDL to examine roughly Rs 38,500 crore in regulatory assets.
- The legal fight turns on procedure and institutional power: APTEL in April set aside an earlier CAG entrustment and directed appointment of an independent chartered accountant, and DERC has appealed that finding to the Supreme Court.
- Key actors are split — the Delhi government says the CAG probe is needed for transparency and to protect consumers from being saddled with unchecked liabilities, the discoms and some regulators contest the legal basis, and the CAG had given only in‑principle approval in January 2026 and is now restrained from acting.
- The July 15 hearing will decide which body can lawfully audit private discoms in Delhi and will shape the timeline for any recovery of regulatory assets, a move that could directly affect consumer bills and the sequencing of RA liquidation through 2031.