SC sets up selection panel for appointment of members to Delhi power regulator
New Delhi, November 6
The Supreme Court on Monday set up a three-member selection panel for short-listing and appointing two temporary members of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the selection committee would comprise Justice Jayant Nath, former Delhi High Court Judge and present pro tem DERC head; Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, chairperson of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL); and Justice Asha Menon, former Delhi High Court judge.
The bench said the selection panel shall recommend two names for each position with information regarding their ability, integrity, and knowledge domain, preferably within one month.
The names of short-listed candidates would be forwarded to the office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) and the Chief Minister (CM) of Delhi for appointment, it added.
The bench said the panel would be free to devise methods for selection of the members of the national capital’s power regulatory authority.
The department concerned of the Delhi government shall provide secretarial assistance to the committee and the meeting of the panel can be conducted physically or virtually, it said.
“The selection committee shall give two names for each position with regard to their ability, integrity, and knowledge domain. The committee is requested to recommend the names within one month of this order. The names to be sent to the LG and the CM of Delhi, and their appointment shall be made thereafter,” the order said.
Earlier, the top court had on August 4 taken note of the discord between the Delhi government and the LG over who should head the city’s power regulator and had appointed former Delhi High Court Judge Justice Jayant Nath as the interim chairperson of the DERC.
The Chief Justice of India-led bench said the LG and CM of Delhi shall notify the honorarium payable to Justice (retd) Nath after due consultation with the appointee.
The court had noted the counsel representing the Delhi government and the office of the LG have jointly requested it to nominate a former judge to discharge the duty of the chairperson of DERC.
