On Friday, the Supreme Court appointed former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Jayant Nath, as the interim chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). The appointment comes after the Delhi government and the office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) failed to reach an agreement on the selection of a chairperson for the commission.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, stated that Justice Nath would serve as the pro tem Chairperson of DERC due to his current engagements in other work, including arbitration. The appointment is intended to serve as an interim measure until the issue is finally resolved.
The Supreme Court’s decision to appoint an interim chairperson comes after efforts to reach a consensus between the Chief Minister and the LG were unsuccessful. The court emphasized the importance of filling the position to ensure the functioning and public interest of the DERC.
The petition filed by the Delhi government challenging the appointment of Justice (Retd) Umesh Kumar as the DERC chairperson led to the court’s intervention. The court had deferred the oath-taking ceremony of Justice Umesh Kumar as the chairperson and has now appointed Justice Jayant Nath to oversee the commission’s affairs temporarily.
The DERC had been operating without a chairperson for four months since the previous chairperson, Justice (Retd) Shabihul Hasnain, retired on January 9, 2023.
