SC extends tenure of interim DERC head Jayant Nath amid Delhi govt-LG standoff

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday extended the tenure of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Jayant Nath as the interim chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) even after he attains the superannuation age of 65 years.

In a bid to resolve the impasse between the AAP-led Delhi government and the office of Lieutenant Governor (LG), the top court, on its own, had appointed Justice Nath as the interim chairperson of the DERC on August 4, 2023.

On Monday, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took up a fresh plea of the Delhi government in a pending case that said the government had no objection if the tenure of Justice Nath was extended beyond 65 years.

The retirement age of DERC chairperson is 65 years and the former judge would be reaching the age soon.

Senior advocate Sanjay Jain, appearing for the office of LG V K Saxena, said he had no objection to the plea if the bench, waived off the age criteria in the case for time being.

The bench said the former judge was well aware of the DERC affairs now and could remain in the office till the main plea of Delhi government was decided.

The top court recorded the consent of the Delhi government and the office of the LG and extended the tenure of Justice Nath.

The AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi LG V K Saxena were at loggerheads over the appointment of the DERC chairperson and had failed to resolve their differences despite the apex court's prodding.

On July 17, 2023, the apex court had asked the then Delhi chief minister and the 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 the glare of publicity.

The Delhi government, while challenging the powers of the LG in appointing the DERC chairperson, had said in its petition the office of the LG had to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers which he had not.

On July 20, 2023, 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.