Authority: Supreme Court of India

Order Date: 05-10-2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioners: M/s Vardhman Ispat Udyog etc., M/s Prime Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd., M/s Kundlas Loh Udyog, M/s India Steel Continental Pvt. Ltd., M/s J.B. Rolling Pvt. Ltd.
  • Respondent: Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited.
  • The petitions (Special Leave to Appeal (C) Nos. 34169‑34176/2026) arise from the impugned final judgment and orders dated 23‑06‑2026 (LPA Nos. 327/2025, 328/2025, 655/2025, 657/2025, 257/2026) and 08‑09‑2026 (CMP Nos. 19984/2026, 19985/2026, 19988/2026) passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla.
  • The Division Bench had indicated a returnable date in October 2026.
  • Counsel for petitioners included Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi, S. Niranjan Reddy, Prashant G. Desai, among others; counsel for respondent included Senior Advocate P. Chidambaram and others.

Order Details

1. The Supreme Court observed that, given the nature of the impugned orders and the returnable date already fixed by the Division Bench, the Special Leave Petitions would not be entertained.

2. The Court directed the Division Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court to dispose of the following pending Letters Patent Appeals (LPAs) and Civil Writ Petition (CWP) no later than 07‑11‑2026:

  • LPA No. 328 of 2025 (along with LPA Nos. 327, 591, 603, 652, 653, 654, 655, 656, 657 of 2025)
  • LPA Nos. 257 & 341 of 2026
  • CWP No. 351 of 2022

3. The petitioners were granted a two‑week period from the date of the order to continue maintaining the security deposits they had been maintaining prior to the disposal of the writ petition. The security amounts required are:

  • Vardhman Ispat Udyog: Rs 1,55,00,000 (Rs 1.55 crore)
  • Prime Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd.: Rs 5,91,00,000 (Rs 5.91 crore)
  • Kundlas Loh Udyog: Rs 3,16,80,000 (Rs 3.168 crore)
  • India Steel Continental Pvt. Ltd.: Rs 1,88,05,500 (Rs 1.88055 crore)
  • J.B. Rolling Pvt. Ltd.: Rs 10,86,27,750 (Rs 10.862775 crore)

4. The present Special Leave Petitions are disposed of in the above terms.

5. Any pending applications, if any, shall stand disposed of.

Final Outcome

  • The Supreme Court dismissed all Special Leave Petitions filed by the steel companies.
  • The Himachal Pradesh High Court was instructed to render final orders on the listed LPAs and CWP by 7 November 2026.
  • Petitioners must continue to maintain the specified security deposits for a further two weeks.
  • All other pending applications in the matter are deemed disposed.

Topics: Legal Dispute, Energy Sector, Steel Industry