Justice (retired) Satyendra Singh Chauhan, the newly appointed chairperson of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), took oath of office in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday.
He took charge after the swearing-in ceremony administered by Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain.
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The vacant post of DERC chairperson was filled two years after an earlier appointment was scrapped by the then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.
Unlike in earlier cases, Chauhan’s appointment did not go through the regular selection process through various committees.
“There is a provision in Electricity Act that a judge can be directly appointed. Chauhan’s name was directly recommended by the Power Department and he was directly appointed after getting the L-G’s approval,” said a government official.
The appointment was apparently done in haste keeping in mind that the DERC was being managed by a single member BP Singh, who is due to retire in September this year. The post of the second member remained vacant for three years after JP Singh retired.
