'Rise Above Political Bickering': SC Tells Kejriwal, Delhi LG Amid Row Over Appointment Of DERC Head

The Supreme Court asked Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to discuss the names of former judges who could head the national capital's power regulator.

New Delhi: Amid differences over the appointment of the new DERC chairperson, the Supreme Court Monday asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to discuss the names of former judges who could head the national capital's power regulator, saying the two constitutional functionaries have to rise above "political bickering". A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said it will take up the issue for consideration again on Thursday, and asked the counsel for the city government and the LG to apprise Kejriwal and Saxena of today's development in the court.

"The two constitutional functionaries have to rise above political bickering and they should give a name for the DERC chairperson," the bench said.

The apex court had said on July 4 that it will examine the constitutional validity of a provision of the Centre's recent ordinance governing appointments such as that of the DERC chairperson even as the Delhi government informed the court of the oath-taking of Justice (retd) Umesh Kumar as chief of the national capital's electricity regulatory authority stands deferred.

The appointment of Justice Kumar as the DERC chairperson has become yet another flashpoint in the turf war between the city's AAP government and the Centre.

The AAP government had recommended the name of former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Justice Srivastava for the position. However, Justice Srivastava expressed his inability to take charge due to "family commitments and requirements".

Later, the government sent the name of Justice (retd) Sangeet Raj Lodha of the Rajasthan High Court on June 21. The central government, however, notified the name of Justice Kumar for the post the same evening, prompting the AAP government to move the top court challenging the notification.