'Unnecessary Delay': LG Writes To Delhi CM Over Administering Oath Of Office To DERC Chairman

The LG requested that the chief minister ensure the oath taking ceremony to be held as soon as possible, ideally by Wednesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (left), and Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena (right).

Source : PTI

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, expressing concern about the "unnecessary delay" in appointing former Allahabad High Court judge Umesh Kumar as head of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). The LG requested that the chief minister ensure the oath taking ceremony to be held as soon as possible, ideally by Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.

"I am in receipt of a communication regarding unnecessary delay in administering oath of office to Hon'ble Justice (Retd) Shri Umesh Kumar as Chairperson, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), despite his communication on 22.06.2023 that he would be available in Delhi for this purpose from 26.06.2023 (10:00 AM onwards)," the LG's letter to the chief minister read.

According to Saxena's letter, following Justice Kumar's appointment, the next logical and statutorily-mandated step is for the minister in charge of power to administer the oath of office to him as soon as possible.

"It is also brought to your notice that upon being approached by the Department of Power on June 26, 2023, under directions from Hon'ble minister (power), Justice Shri Umesh Kumar, inter alia, clearly expressed his keenness to assume his responsibilities and categorically mentioned his availability for oath taking from June 27, 2023 onwards till June 29, 2023, whereafter he would be travelling out of Delhi," the letter reads, PTI reported. 

"In saying so, he did not agree with the proposal of the department to hold the oath ceremony July 3, 2023 onwards. Accordingly, the oath could very well have been administered on June 27 or 28, 2023, June 29 being a public holiday and due to the unavailability of the Hon'ble minister on June 30, 2023," he said.

The LG emphasised that the power minister is required by law to administer the oath of office and secrecy to the chairman and members of the DERC.

"The rules, however, do not give unlimited discretion to the minister to withhold or inordinately delay administering of the oath. Any deviation to the statutorily logical processes of governance cannot be subjected to the whims and fancies of individuals. Such stonewalling of the president's decisions, without any statutory backing, will lead to anarchy, which must be avoided at any cost," he said.