Supreme court defers oath taking ceremony of delhi power regulator chief issues notice to centre

Supreme court defers oath taking ceremony of delhi power regulator chief issues notice to centre

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred administering of oath to nominated DERC chairperson Umesh Kumar on a statement made by the Delhi government.

Justice (retired) Umesh Kumar won't be administered oath of office as new Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman until the court hears the matter next, recorded the Supreme Court as it issued notice to the Centre on a petition by the Delhi government, challenging a provision of the 2023 Ordinance.

The ordinance provision empowers the president, through Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, to constitute commissions and boards in Delhi.

The next hearing will be held on July 11.

Earlier, Saxena, in his letter to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, had directed that Kumar could not be administered the oath of office by Delhi power minister Atishi till 10am on Tuesday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had challenged Justice Kumar's appointment in the Supreme Court.

In his letter to Kejriwal, the L-G said Kumar, a former Allahabad high court judge, was available for the oath ceremony only till 10am on Tuesday.

The L-G directed that either the power minister would administer the oath of office and secrecy to Kumar virtually through a video conference or video call or the chief minister or any of his ministers would complete the formalities or the chief secretary may be asked to perform the task. Atishi was scheduled to administer the oath of office to Kumar on Monday, but she suddenly faced a ‘health issue’, leading to the event being postponed to July 6, news agency PTI reported.

Kumar was appointed as the chairman of the DERC on June 21.

The appointment of the DERC chairman is the latest flashpoint between the Delhi government and the LG's office, following the Centre's ordinance on control of services. The AAP has challenged the ordinance in the Supreme Court.