After the commission began investigations, a petitioner filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against the power utility on the same issue -- inflated billing due to alleged excess fuel surcharge recovery. As this PIL is sub-judice, CESC obtained a stay against the MRTPC probe.

The MTRPC, under the department of company affairs in the union finance ministry, had initiated investigations against the RPG power utility under Section 11(2) of the MRTP Act of 1969 on the issue of fuel surcharge.

On receiving a notice from the MRTPC, CESC company secretary S Mitra requested the commission to drop the investigation since a writ petition had been filed before the Calcutta high court on the same issue. After Mitra's letter of December 18, 1997, CESC got a stay on the investigation. The case has not been heard for the last eight months.

West Bengal Rolling Mills Association general secretary Suresh Agarwal had lodged complaints with several union and state ministers in June 1997, alleging that CESC Ltd was realising inflated fuel surcharge from its consumers with retrospective effect from April 1992.

Among those with whom Agarwal lodged his complaint were -- the then union finance minister P Chidambaram, West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, finance minister Asim Dasgupta, power minister Sankar Sen, then chief secretary Anish Mazumdar and union power secretary BS Verma. Chidambaram forwarded the letter to the director general of investigation & registration (DGIR) under the DCA.

According to CESC's petition, a copy of which is available with The Financial Express, it got a notice from the MRTPC dated August 27, 1997, relating to unfair/ restrictive trade practices. CESC, in its petition, has made the union of India, DGIR and deputy DGIR parties but has left out Agarwal.

CESC has stated that it was affected by the fuel cost rise in three areas -- incremental cost of its own generation, incremental cost of buying power from the WB state electricity board and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). It said that both WBSEB and DVC levy fuel surcharge on a provisional basis at the end of every six months, whenever the fuel related costs are available with them. The company said its fuel surcharge billing was in line with norms, and that it submits the annual statement of account to the state government and to the WBSEB as prescribed by Section 11 read with Rule 26 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910.

CESC, through its solicitors Khaitan & Co, issued a legal notice on November 15, 1997, requesting the assistant director general of the MRTPC not to proceed with the investigations. On December 12, CESC Ltd managing director received a reply from Saud Ahmad, assistant DG of the commission, pointing out that he had not received any information or documents so far.