Supreme Court Chides Delhi Govt Over Delay In Constituting Selection Committee For DERC Appointments, Seeks Timeline In 2 Days

The Supreme Court today questioned the Delhi Government over delay in constitution of a Selection Committee for appointments to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), observing that the process appeared to be going “nowhere” despite the Commission remaining without a Chairperson for nearly a year.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi was hearing a plea filed by NGO Energy Watchdog seeking regular appointments to DERC and constitution of a Selection Committee under the Electricity Act, 2003.

Counsel for the Government of NCT of Delhi informed the Court that a proposal to constitute the Selection Committee had been moved on May 4, 2026, and sought additional time. She stated that the once the Selection Committee is constituted, appointments would be completed within three months as prescribed under Section 85 of the Electricity Act.

The Chief Justice, however, expressed concern over the lack of progress, remarking, “You are nowhere and ultimately it will go nowhere.”

When the government sought more time, the Court granted two days and said it wanted a clear indication of the timeline for notifying the Selection Committee. The Court observed that once the committee was constituted, it could direct it to complete the appointment process within a fixed timeframe.

Advocate Pranav Sachdeva for the petitioner submitted that the Chairperson of DERC had to be filled by a retired High Court judge because the other two members were technical members. He said that at least one member must be a judge or a person qualified to be a judge. He pointed out that adjudicatory functions had effectively ceased for the past year because no Chairperson had been appointed.

He further pointed out that the two members were serving on a pro tem basis and that despite assurances given before the Supreme Court on August 18, 2025, regular appointments had not been made.

The petitioner's counsel also argued that Section 85 excludes the requirement of a Selection Committee when the appointee is a person who has been a High Court judge. He said that there were earlier interim arrangements under which retired judges had been appointed on a pro tem basis and submitted that the last such appointee demitted office about a year ago.

The CJI responded that this was why the Court had taken up the matter.

The Court directed the government counsel to obtain clear instructions from the competent authority on the timeline of constituting the selection committee and posted the matter for further hearing on May 29.

“We would, however, like to know that within how many days the selection committee shall be notified so that appropriate directions can be issued to the selection committee to finalise the selection process in a time bound manner. For this particularly, the learned counsel to have clear instructions from the competent authority. Post this matter on 29th”, the Court ordered.

Background

On May 18, the Supreme Court issued notice on the plea. The petition contends that despite assurances given before the Supreme Court in earlier litigation and despite the Court's 2018 judgment in State of Gujarat v. Utility Users' Welfare Association requiring inclusion of a judicial member or person of law in State Electricity Regulatory Commissions, no regular appointments have been made to the posts of Chairperson or Member in DERC.

According to the petition, DERC presently consists only of two pro tem members, has no Chairperson and does not include a judicial member. It further alleges that complaints and petitions against power distribution companies under Section 142 of the Electricity Act have not been heard or listed since July 15, 2025, resulting in denial of effective remedies to electricity consumers.

Case no. – W.P.(C) No. 626/2026

Case Title – Energy Watchdog v. Government of NCT of Delhi and Anr.