Congress legal bigwigs against each other in Delhi-Centre row in discom case

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram appeared today and yesterday for Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government to defend its decisions and claims over services.
Senior Congress leaders L-R Vivek Tankha P Chidambaram Kapil Sibal and Randeep Singh Surjewala during a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, 16 May 2018. | PTI
Senior Congress leaders L-R Vivek Tankha P Chidambaram Kapil Sibal and Randeep Singh Surjewala during a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, 16 May 2018. | PTI

NEW DELHI: Congress leaders and senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal along with P Chidambaram will slug it out against each other in the Supreme Court in matters related to discoms.

A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was told by Singhvi in a lighter vein that he will be appearing for private companies in the discom matter.

The Congress leader quipped that "if Mr P Chidambaram can appear for the other side, I can very well appear for some private company".

The top court, which is hearing cases related to administrative and legislative control of Delhi, is to take up a matter for adjudication in which Delhi government had taken a decision empowering the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission to impose fine on discoms in the event of disruption of power supply on the ground.

The Delhi High Court had on August 4, 2016 termed the decision of AAP government to penalise discoms for power cuts as "illegal and unconstitutional" saying the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi was not taken on board.

The AAP government had challenged the decision of Delhi High Court before the apex court.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram appeared today and yesterday for Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government to defend its decisions and claims over services.

Sibal, Singhvi and Chidambaram are all senior leaders of Congress party.

Sibal, who was once at loggerheads with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had yesterday represented the AAP government in the Supreme Court to argue matters related to control of services and other powers in the national capital.

Sibal, whose son and senior advocate Amit Sibal had filed a defamation complaint against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, recently buried the hatchet by taking back the case after they apologised.

Kabil Sibal senior had led the argument for the Delhi government in cases that signify the tug of war between the AAP government and the Centre over powers of the lieutenant governor (LG) in the legislative affairs of the Delhi assembly.

He had not appeared for the Delhi government during the hearing before the five-judge Constitution bench that had the matter on the Delhi-Centre power row.

In a case lodged by Amit Sibal in 2013, it was alleged that Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, expelled AAP leader Prashant Bhushan and now BJP leader Shazia Ilmi, who was then an AAP member, had targeted him and his father Kapil Sibal, the then telecom minister, over the Vodafone tax revision case and had allegedly raised the bogey of conflict of interest.

On March 19, Kejriwal had tendered a written unconditional apology to Amit Sibal, after which he was discharged by a city court in the criminal defamation case.

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