SC sets up panel for appointment of members to Delhi power regulator DERC

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 will comprise Justice Jayant Nath, former Delhi High Court judge and present pro tem DERC head, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, the chairperson of APTEL (Appellate Tribunal for Electricity) and Justice Asha Menon, a 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 domain knowledge, preferably within one month.

The names of short-listed candidates will be forwarded to the office of the lieutenant governor of Delhi and the chief minister for appointment, it added.

The bench said the panel will 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 domain knowledge. The committee is requested to recommend the names within one month of this order. The names to be sent to the LG and the Delhi CM and the appointment shall be made thereafter," the order said.

Earlier, the top court had on August 4 this year taken note of the discord between the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor 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 CJI-led bench had said the lieutenant governor and the chief minister of Delhi shall notify the honorarium payable to Justice (retd) Nath after due consultation with him (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 the DERC.