PSUs shouldn’t behave like Shylock to become money-minded: SC | India News

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court has stated that public sector models shouldn’t be guided solely by industrial pursuits for being profitable like a non-public firm however their conduct should be like a mannequin citizen and got here down on Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) for behaving like “Shylock” and entering into pointless litigation on tariff in opposition to wind energy producers in Gujarat from which it purchases energy.A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma rejected the plea of GUVNL which contended that tariff price of Rs 3.56 per kWh as talked about in energy buy agreements (PPAs) was binding on the 4 energy producing firms. The court docket stated govt has been selling renewable vitality to scale back carbon footprint and to make the nation vitality self-sufficient and fewer depending on fossil fuels and GUVNL ought to be aware of the coverage.The PSU took the stand that these wind vitality tasks had willingly entered into PPAs with it, binding themselves to the tariff price of Rs 3.56 per kWh, and have been, subsequently, not at liberty to search willpower of tariff on a case-to-case foundation thereafter, a plea which was rejected by the SC.“GUVNL cannot be guided only by its own commercial interests, like a private business entity and it’s conduct, as a state-instrumentality, must be of the standard of a model citizen. However, patently unfair treatment was sought to be meted out by GUVNL to the respondent companies by binding them to a rate that was wholly inapplicable to them. Such conduct, akin to a Shylock, does not reflect positively upon GUVNL,” the bench stated.