Jahanvi Agarwal
The Supreme Court has been informed by the Delhi Government and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) that they had failed to arrive at an agreement about the appointment of the DERC chairperson.
It observed that it could consider appointing a retired judge on an as-needed basis for a period of time, but initially, it would have to contact a few judges.
When it became clear that there was no agreement on the subject, the bench presided over by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud questioned:
“Can you both not pick up one judge for appointment as DERC chairperson?”
Senior Advocate Harish Salve, who was representing the Delhi LG, claimed that the top court may suggest names for the appointment of the head of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), and that person will be appointed.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the Centre, asserted that the institution cannot continue to function without a leader and that the bench can elect the DERC chairperson.
The DERC chairperson would be chosen by the court from among the names of three to five former Delhi High Court justices, according to the Bench, which also included Justices P.S. Narasimha and Manoj Misra.
On July 17, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and LG V K Saxena were asked by the Supreme Court to put aside their “political bickering” and decide who should lead the DERC, the national capital’s power regulator. The court ruled that the two constitutional functionaries should begin their “serious work of governance” away from the glare of publicity.
The Supreme Court has recommended that the chief minister and the LG meet and sit down together in order to arrive at a consensus either on one name or exchange three names each. This was done in an effort to end the current deadlock over choosing a retired judge for the DERC position.