The Telangana High Court dismissed GVK Gautami Power’s plea seeking refund of ₹24.28 crore

The Telangana High Court has dismissed a suit filed by M/s GVK Gautami Power Limited nearly nine years ago seeking compensation of ₹ 24.28 crore from power distribution companies of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with costs of one lakh rupees.

Delivering the verdict, Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Supreme Court said the suit lacked local jurisdiction. He also observed that the execution of an order passed by a subordinate tribunal (in this case, an order passed in 2013 by the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission) cannot be ordered in a jurisdictional proceeding. The costs imposed should be paid to the respondents in the case.

The court disagreed with the petitioner’s claim that the energy distribution companies could not seek dismissal of her lawsuit because it had been pending for the past nine years. The judge said the court was “stunned to find that the power distribution companies (respondents) have not raised any claim for the amount before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) where the proceedings of the petitioner company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) are pending.”

They had not even filed an application with an insolvency practitioner regarding their claim, which was pending with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, the judge said. The judge directed officials of the TRANSCO departments of both the states and all the DISCOMS to investigate the matter and find out who is responsible for the non-claim which resulted in loss to the former state check officer.

The petitioner company, which was engaged in generation and sale of electricity, had entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the then AP Electricity Board in 1997, which eventually split into various TRANSCO companies after the bifurcation of the State.

According to the petitioner, the power distribution companies of both the states were required to refund all taxes levied on their income, including minimum alternative tax (MAT) paid by the income tax department.

The power project of the petitioner company was located at Peddapuram in Kakinada District of AP, falling under the territorial jurisdiction of AP High Court. A PPA was also created with authorities operating in and from AP. All transactions and cause of action were from AP. The company’s lawsuit related to an order received by APERC. “Therefore, it must be stated that this court does not have local jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit,” the judgment reads.

Published – 15 Jun 2026 23:36 IST