“Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in its hearing held today has granted a stay on notice of debarment and public notice issued by SECI against the company including all its subsidiaries except Reliance NU BESS Limited (formerly known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited),” Reliance Power said in a regulatory filing.
This comes after the National Solar Mission barred Reliance Power from bidding in future tenders for three years, citing the submission of fake bank guarantees.
The Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) made the decision following a bid by Reliance NU BESS for a 1,000 MW/2,000 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) project. SECI issued the tender for this project in June.
Upon review, SECI found that the bank guarantee endorsement submitted against the earnest money deposit by Reliance NU BESS Ltd — previously known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Ltd — was falsified.
SECI attributed the decision to a logical inference that all strategic and commercial decisions were driven by Reliance Power. “Thus, it became imperative to debar Reliance Power from participating in future tenders issued by SECI,” the agency stated.
In response, Reliance Power announced its intention to legally contest SECI’s decision, labelling it an “unwarranted action.” The company claimed to be a victim of fraud, forgery, and criminal conspiracy and filed a complaint with Delhi Police in October.
It assured shareholders that it would pursue all legal avenues to challenge SECI’s decision, considering the interests of its 4 million shareholders. Shares of Reliance Power Ltd ended at ₹36.46, up by ₹1.73, or 4.98% on the BSE.
