{"id":73037,"date":"2025-11-12T11:09:47","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=73037"},"modified":"2025-11-12T11:42:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T06:12:31","slug":"supreme-court-centre-rift-over-tribunals-what-the-dispute-is-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-court-centre-rift-over-tribunals-what-the-dispute-is-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court\u2013Centre Rift Over Tribunals: What the Dispute Is About"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Tribunals Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court expressed strong displeasure after the <\/span><b>Centre sought another adjournment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the case challenging the <\/span><b>Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, highlighting ongoing tensions between the judiciary and the government over tribunal control.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Understanding India\u2019s Tribunal System<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tribunals are judicial or quasi-judicial bodies created to handle specific types of disputes that require expertise or faster resolution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their main goals are to reduce the burden on regular courts and to bring technical expertise in areas such as taxation, administration, and corporate law.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Judicial Independence and Supreme Court\u2019s Directives<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has emphasised that <\/span><b>tribunals must enjoy the same independence from the executive as the judiciary<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key aspects of independence include the selection process, composition, and tenure of members.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court recommended that administrative control over tribunals be placed under the Law Ministry, not the ministries they adjudicate against, and later proposed an independent National Tribunals Commission.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These reforms, however, have not been implemented.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Constitutional Basis of Tribunals<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tribunals were formally established through the <\/span><b>42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which introduced <\/span><b>Articles 323A and 323B<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Article 323A<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Allows Parliament to create <\/span><b>administrative tribunals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for public service matters.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Article 323B<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Allows Parliament and state legislatures to create tribunals on subjects like <\/span><b>taxation, land reforms, and labour<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>2010<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Supreme Court clarified that tribunals could also be formed on <\/span><b>other subjects under the Seventh Schedule<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Tribunals Reforms Act Faces Challenge Over Judicial Independence<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, has been challenged by the Madras Bar Association (MBA) for allegedly undermining judicial independence and violating the separation of powers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tribunals, which handle specialised cases in areas like taxation, corporate law, and administration, have been affected nationwide by the ongoing case.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The MBA argued that the Act reintroduced provisions\u2014such as a four-year term for tribunal members and a minimum appointment age of 50\u2014that were part of an earlier ordinance struck down by the Supreme Court in July 2021.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By re-enacting the same provisions without addressing the legal flaws identified earlier, the petitioners claim Parliament attempted to override a judicial verdict, amounting to \u201clegislative overruling\u201d and weakening the judiciary\u2019s autonomy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>A Long-Running Power Struggle Over Tribunals<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tussle between the Centre and the Supreme Court over control of tribunals began with the Finance Act of 2017, which gave the government the power to make rules for tribunals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, in 2019, the Supreme Court\u2019s <\/span><b>Rojer Mathew judgment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> struck down these rules, saying they weakened judicial independence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>The 2020 Rules and Supreme Court\u2019s Recommendations<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the Centre issued new tribunal rules in 2020, they were again challenged by the Madras Bar Association (MBA).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court suggested key changes \u2014 including a five-year tenure for tribunal members \u2014 to protect independence and attract qualified professionals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>The 2021 Ordinance and Court\u2019s Rejection<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In April 2021, the Centre passed an ordinance setting a four-year tenure and a minimum age of 50 years for tribunal appointments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By July 2021, the <\/span><b>Supreme Court struck down these provisions as \u201carbitrary<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d and <\/span><b>against the principle of separation of powers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Parliament\u2019s Defiant Response<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A month later, Parliament passed the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, re-enacting the same struck-down provisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This move reignited the clash between the judiciary and the executive, with critics calling it a direct challenge to judicial authority.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Key Arguments in the Tribunal Reforms Case<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Madras Bar Association (MBA) argued that the four-year tenure for tribunal members makes them vulnerable to government pressure, as they might act cautiously to secure reappointment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also said the minimum age limit of 50 years unfairly excludes younger, capable lawyers, even though individuals can become High Court judges at a younger age.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Government\u2019s Defence: Experience and Policy Autonomy<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union government defended the provisions, saying the age limit ensures sufficient experience, and the four-year term with reappointment offers enough job security.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It argued that the Act represents a policy decision within Parliament\u2019s authority, and that by striking down these rules, the judiciary would overstep its powers and violate the principle of separation of powers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Fallout: Vacancies Leave Tribunals Struggling to Function<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ongoing standoff between the Centre and the Supreme Court over tribunal appointments and service rules has caused serious delays in filling vacancies across several key tribunals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of December 2022, government data showed:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT): 24 vacancies out of 32 posts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Armed Forces Tribunal: 24 vacancies out of 34 posts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Income Tax Appellate Tribunal: 18 of 63 judicial posts vacant.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Railway Claims Tribunal: Both vice-chairman (judicial) posts vacant, along with 16 of 20 judicial positions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Labour and Industrial Tribunals: Only 13 presiding officers in place against 22 sanctioned posts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has noted that these persistent delays have made several tribunals <\/span><b>\u201cvirtually defunct<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d, undermining their very purpose of providing speedy and specialised justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/discord-supreme-court-centre-tribunals-impact-10359012\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/prsindia.org\/billtrack\/prs-products\/the-tribunal-system-in-india\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PRS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court and Centre are at odds over the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, reigniting debate on judicial independence, tribunal vacancies, and separation of powers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":73085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,3659,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-73037","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-tribunals","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}