4 min readChandigarhFeb 20, 2026 02:52 PM IST
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Friday stayed the Punjab government’s move to transfer any property owned by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), granting significant interim relief in a public interest litigation (PIL) pending since January.
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A division bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the order on an application moved by Senior Advocate Baltej Singh Sidhu.
Sidhu said he had sought urgent intervention against the proposed transfer of 50 acres in Badungarh village. According to him, the government was transferring the land to the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) under its 80:20 policy, after which it was to be auctioned in the open market. He alleged that the land had originally been acquired from farmers for a public purpose, but was never utilised and was now being put up for sale to generate funds for freebies.
The application forms part of a broader PIL filed by Rajbir Singh, which alleges a deepening financial crisis at PSPCL due to large-scale defaults by Punjab government departments and the state’s move to sell valuable public assets instead of recovering outstanding dues.
The petition states that electricity dues owed by various government departments had mounted to Rs 2,582.24 crore as of August 31, 2025. In addition, the unpaid power subsidy had crossed Rs 10,000 crore. It argues that although the government is a consumer like any other, it has failed to discharge its moral, ethical, and statutory obligation to clear electricity bills, pushing PSPCL into financial distress. As a result, the Corporation has allegedly been forced to take substantial loans to meet routine expenditure such as salaries, pensions, and power purchases.
The PIL contends that instead of invoking Section 56 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which permits recovery of arrears or disconnection of supply after due notice, PSPCL has been left grappling with mounting liabilities while the state proceeds to sell its land under the Optimum Use of Vacant Government Land Scheme.
It describes these properties as long-term public assets held in trust for future generations and argues that liquidating them to address what it terms a self-created fiscal crisis is improper, particularly when recoverable dues of comparable magnitude remain unpaid by the state itself. The petition also raises concerns that several parcels were acquired from farmers for specific public purposes but now stand vacant and are proposed to be sold for commercial use, which it says undermines the doctrine of public purpose.
Proposed transfer
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The record placed before the court refers to a government meeting on October 1, 2025, where a decision was taken to sell or transfer public properties, including PSPCL land, followed by a communication from PUDA dated October 10, 2025. Subsequent media reports highlighted the proposed transfer of 165 acres of prime PSPCL land at Bathinda for public auction.
In its prayers, the petition seeks a mandamus directing PSPCL to recover the Rs 2,582.24 crore default with interest and penalty or, in the alternative, to disconnect electricity supply to defaulting departments under Section 56 of the Electricity Act, 2003. It also seeks directions to the state and its finance department to release outstanding dues immediately and to clear the Rs 10,000 crore power subsidy.
The PIL asserts that it has been filed bona fide in public interest to safeguard public finances, enforce statutory accountability and prevent dissipation of public assets, and that it involves no personal interest of the petitioner.
With the interim stay in place, no transfer or sale of PSPCL properties can proceed. The matter is likely to be taken up again shortly.
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The development assumes significance against the backdrop of Punjab’s mounting fiscal stress, with the state’s outstanding debt estimated at around Rs 4 lakh crore as of October 2025.
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