Atishi, the minister of power for Delhi, wrote to Justice (Retd) Umesh Kumar, the newly appointed chairman of the DERC, asking him to take the oath of office on July 3 or 4, according to sources.
On June 21, Justice Kumar was chosen to lead the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).
Earlier this week, Lt. Governor VK Saxena wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to express his concern about the “unnecessary delay” in taking Justice Kumar’s oath of office and to urge him to proceed immediately.
According to sources, Kejriwal urged Atishi to administer the oath “as soon as possible” and submitted the letter to her the same day.
Atishi attributed the issue on the Power department in her letter to Justice Kumar.
In a letter to the department, Justice Kumar, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, said that he had just arrived in Delhi after learning that the minister wouldn’t be in the capital city after June 29.
Since Atishi was available on those dates, he said he had made himself available to take the oath of office between June 26 and June 28.
Sadly, the honourable minister for power in the GNCTD was unable to make time for the oath within these three days. I must admit that the whole thing should have been handled more professionally, eliminating the need for me to go back and forth from my base to Delhi,” he had remarked.
In response to Kumar’s email, Atishi said that she had requested the electricity department to discipline the personnel responsible for the misunderstanding.
This sad circumstance resulted from the Power department writing to you and requesting a time for the oath without my permission or before confirming my availability. This sad circumstance would not have occurred if the Power department had first asked whether I was available before contacting you.
It is disturbing beyond belief that the Power department would contact you without even enquiring as to my availability on those days. Someone as senior as you has been inconvenienced due of this astonishingly careless and unethical attitude. It is simply wrong to inconvenience such a senior functionary in this way. The person who is accountable for this has been ordered to face disciplinary action by the Power department, the boss added.
Justice Kumar’s appointment was described as “patently illegal and unconstitutional” in a letter from Atishi to Saxena.
The minister had said that she would administer the oath office to him in order to prevent “constitutional brinkmanship”.
Former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Justice (Retd) RK Srivastava was suggested for the role by the AAP administration. However, Justice Srivastava said that “family commitments and requirements” prevented him from taking the lead.
Later, on June 21, the municipal administration received Justice (Retd) Sangeet Raj Lodha’s approval from the Rajasthan High Court. But that evening, the national government announced Justice Kumar’s name.
