Delhi govt-LG row on DERC chairperson appointment: SC appoints Delhi HC judge as interim chief

The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed that the counsel for the Delhi government and the LG have jointly requested it to nominate a former judge to discharge the duty of the chairperson of the DERC. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, contended that it would be fair if the apex court does not reveal the names forwarded by either side and appoint a person to the post. The counsel, representing the LG, also agreed with Singhvi’s submissions.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday appointed former Delhi High Court judge Jayant Nath as the interim Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said, “We request Justice Jayant Nath to be the DERC Chairperson, former Delhi HC judge. Since the judge is amidst other work, including arbitration. Since the nature of the appointment is pro tem, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) and CM Arvind Kejriwal shall in consultation with Justice Nath notify the honorarium payable”.

The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed that the counsel for the Delhi government and the LG have jointly requested it to nominate a former judge to discharge the duty of the chairperson of the DERC. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, contended that it would be fair if the apex court does not reveal the names forwarded by either side and appoint a person to the post. The counsel, representing the LG, also agreed with Singhvi’s submissions.

The Chief Justice observed that since this is a pro-tem appointment, the remuneration of the person nominated by the court could be fixed in consultation with the LG. The Chief Justice, in a lighter vein, said “I am hopelessly outdated on fees now. You will all start laughing. The juniors will start laughing in the court if I fix fees for somebody”. The Delhi government and the LG office have been at loggerheads over the appointment of the next Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman.

On July 20, the Supreme Court said it can appoint somebody ad-hoc till the disposal of the matter. The top court stressed that it is “sad that nobody cares about what happens to the institution”, and it is very embarrassing for the top court judges as they should not be doing this. On July 17, the Supreme Court asked can Delhi Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi, two constitutional functionaries, sit down and decide on the name for chairperson of DERC? The top court had said, “They're constitutional functionaries...they have to rise above political bickering…they must sit together and give us a name”.