Ahmedabad, September 07, 2020: The Gujarat high court on Tuesday issued a notice to the state government in response to a petition seeking the appointment of a legal member in the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC).
The Consumer Protection & Action Committee approached the high court against the GERC’s public notice inviting objections and views over the draft of Multi-Year Tariff Regulation Act, 2021. The petitioner contended that this issue of legislation cannot be addressed in the absence of a legal member in the commission.
The petitioner has also submitted that the post of the legal member has been vacant for quite some time and in April 2018, the Supreme Court had directed the state government to fill the vacancy by appointing a judicial officer. However, the government has till date not appointed any retired judicial officer as a legal member of the commission. In the absence of the legal member, the petitioner sought a stay on the process of inviting public objections to the draft.
The HC has sought a reply from the government by September 14.
