Delhi HC seeks govt response on plea on DSCDRC post

The Delhi High Court has sought a response from the Kejriwal government on a plea for court directions on judicial member’s post in Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DSCDRC) that is slated to fall vacant on July 24.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan directed the Delhi government to file a status report on the matter and listed the case for further hearing on August 31.

The directions came on a petition filed by one Rahul Chauhan, who sought a direction to the authorities to let judicial member OP Gupta, scheduled to retire on July 24, to continue in the consumer panel till his replacement is hired.

During the hearing, the court asked the government on the steps taken for the appointment of the judicial member. In response, the government said that the procedure to fill up the vacant position in the commission had already begun. It also sought time from the court to file a detailed response to the petition.

Meanwhile, former Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal of the Delhi High Court took over as Chairperson of the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

On May 29, while the country was under a nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak and all public gatherings were prohibited, the Delhi High Court had bid a first-of-its-kind “virtual farewell” to Justice Sehgal, a day before she demitted office.

Justice Sehgal obtained her LLB degree from Delhi University in 1981 and completed her LLM in 1983. She joined service in July 1985. She served as the Registrar General of Delhi High Court from April 2013 to December 2014 and also worked as Registrar (Vigilance). She was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court on December 15, 2014, and became a permanent judge on June 2, 2016.

She was also serving as the Presiding Officer of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Tribunal and a member of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).