The Delhi High Court on Tuesday disposed of a plea seeking directions to fill the vacant post of member in the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, while asking the Delhi Government and the Lieutenant Governor of the national capital to treat the petition as a representation and decide the same at the earliest.
The division bench comprising of Chief Justice D.N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh heard the plea filed by a law student claiming that the alleged post is lying vacant since March 2021.
The bench directed the concerned respondent authorities to decide the claims as made in the memo, the representation, in accordance with law, rules, regulations and government policies applicable to the facts of the case, as expeditiously as possible and practicable.
The plea points out that the Chairperson of the Commission was appointed by the government in July this year, but the post of member is still lying vacant.
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It is highlighted that a representation was made by the petitioner on October 15, 2021, however the same has not been decided yet. “The fundamental rights of the public as enshrined in the Constitution of India, such as Articles 14, 21 and 32 have been directly affected by the vacancy which is not beneficial for the citizens of Delhi,” reads the petition.
In addition, the plea also claimed that it is not sufficient to merely fill up the vacancy as they exist today, but there is also a need to increase the manpower within the DERC, in order to enable the authority to function in an efficient manner.
The petition has been filed by one Ankita Gaba, through Advocate Azadar Husain. The plea points out that the Delhi Government invited applications for the post of Chairman and one member in the DERC vide advertisement dated March 15, 2021.