Delhi minister Atishi administers oath to new pro tem DERC chairperson

Justice Nath will serve as DERC chairperson till the top court decides on the validity of a central ordinance on services

Delhi power minister Atishi on Thursday administered oath to new chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Authority (DERC), Justice (retired) Jayant Nath.

The apex court had said it would appoint a DERC chairperson for a brief period on an ad-hoc basis. (HT Photo)

“Administered oath to Retd. Justice Jayant Nath Ji, the new chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission. Look forward to working with him to further improve the power sector in Delhi”, Atishi had posted about the oath ceremony on the official X (formerly Twitter) account.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court nominated Nath after it failed to get the chief minister and lieutenant governor to agree on a common name for the post which has been lying vacant since January.

Justice Nath, who retired from Delhi high court on November 9, 2021, will serve as DERC chairperson till the top court decides on the validity of a central ordinance on services which was challenged by the Delhi government and stands referred to a constitution bench.

The chairperson’s post of this key regulatory commission that oversees the electricity sector of the national Capital and fixes the power tariffs, has been vacant since January 9.

The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, which was told by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, that the apex court could pick anyone for the post.

The decision was taken by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud after senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Delhi government and lieutenant governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena respectively, jointly requested the court to propose a name.

The bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, asked chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and LG Saxena to notify the honorarium to be paid in consultation with the judge.

The tussle over who has the power to appoint the DERC head started when the last Chairperson of DERC, retired Justice Shabihul Hasnain vacated the office in January after attaining the age of 65 years.

In January, the post of DERC chairperson fell vacant, and following this, the Delhi government proposed the name of a retired Madhya Pradesh high court judge, justice (retd) Rajeev Kumar Srivastava, for the post. But the recommendation was kept pending with the LG.

The Delhi government filed a petition in the top court against the delay by the LG, who insisted that the appointment required consultation with the Delhi high court chief justice.

The AAP government cited past practice to suggest that the chief justice of the parent high court to which the appointing judge belongs alone needs to be consulted. In May, the top court directed the L-G to proceed with the appointment of justice Srivastava.