With the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor feuding over who should head the city's power regulator, The Supreme Court on Friday appointed former Delhi High Court judge Justice Jayant Nath as the interim chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the Lieutenant Governor (LG) and the Chief Minister of Delhi shall notify the honorarium payable to Justice (retd) Nath after due consultation with him (the appointee).
The bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, noted the counsel representing the Delhi government and the office of LG have jointly requested it to nominate a former judge to discharge the duty of the chairperson of the DERC.
"Accordingly, we request Justice Jayant Nath, a former judge of the High Court of Delhi, to discharge the duties of the office of chairperson of DERC," the bench said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi LG V K Saxena were at loggerheads over the appointment of DERC chairperson and failed to resolve their differences despite the apex court's prodding.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, said it would be fair if the apex court does not reveal the names forwarded by the either side and appoint a person to the post.
"Please pick up anybody your lordships like," Singhvi said.
The counsel appearing for the LG office agreed to it.
"The only thing is, since this is a pro-tem appointment, the remuneration of the person we are nominating, should we say should be fixed in consultation with the LG," the CJI said.
"I am hopelessly outdated on fees now. You will all start laughing. The juniors will start laughing in the court if I fix fees for somebody," Justice Chandrachud said in a lighter vein.
Singhvi said when the apex court says anything about either the LG or the chief minister, it creates an "insignia of authority or legitimacy".
"Since the judge, after demitting office from the High Court of Delhi, is also engaged in other works including arbitration, and having regard to the nature of the present assignment which shall be pro-tem, the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister of Delhi shall notify the honorarium payable after due consultation with Justice Jayant Nath," the bench said.
The CJI observed Justice Nath is a "very dispassionate judge and professional" and he would be above all controversy.The post of the DERC chairperson fell vacant after Justice Shabihul Hasnain demitted office on January 9, 2023.
While hearing the matter on July 20, the apex court had said it would appoint a DERC chairperson for a brief period on an ad-hoc basis pending a decision on the Delhi government's plea contesting the lieutenant governor's power to make such an appointment.
It had expressed anguish that nobody cares about the "headless" institution.
The top court had said it will do some homework and appoint someone on a "pro tem basis" to the post.
The strong observations had come in the wake of submissions that though the LG and the chief minister met, as asked by the apex court, they failed to resolve the issue over the appointment of the chief of the power regulator.
On July 17, the apex court had asked the Delhi chief minister and LG to rise above "political bickering" and discuss who could head the national capital's power regulator, saying the two constitutional functionaries should get down to "serious work of governance" away from glare of publicity.
The Delhi government, while challenging the powers of the LG in appointing the DERC chairperson, had said in its petition that the office of the LG has to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers which he has not.
On July 20, the top court had referred to a constitution bench for adjudication the Delhi government's separate petition against the Centre's ordinance taking away the control of services from the city dispensation.
-With PTI Input
