President appoints new DERC chief, AAP says move unconstitutional

NEW DELHI: After months of being vacant the post of the Chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) was filled on Thursday.

President Droupadi Murmu appointed Umesh Kumar, a retired judge from the Allahabad High Court, as the chairperson of the city’s electricity regulatory board. However, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government called the decision “unconstitutional” and stated that it will challenge the move in the Supreme Court.

Power Minister Atishi said that Murmu willfully ignored and overlooked the aid and advice of the elected government on a transferred subject and appointed someone else for this post. “This unconstitutional and illegal decision by the Hon’ble President of India is extremely unfortunate and the Government of NCT of Delhi shall challenge this in the Honorable Supreme Court,” she said in a statement.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that on all subjects (apart from Land, Public Order and Police) the aid and advice of the elected government is binding. ‘Electricity’ is a transferred subject falling under the jurisdiction of the elected government,” Atishi added.

The development has come after the Justice (Retd) Rajeev Kumar Shrivastava from Madhya Pradesh High Court, who was proposed as the DERC chief by the Arvind Kejriwal led government, expressed his inability to take up the job citing “family commitments and requirements,” sources said.He had communicated the same to L-G VK Saxena on June 25, they added.

However the city government claims that CM Arvind Kejriwal sent a recommendation the name of Justice (Retd) Sangeet Lodha for the post of DERC Chairperson on Tuesday, which Murmu “wilfully ignored.”

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