Tribunals in Bad Shape - Parliamentary Panel
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee in its recent report on the Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (Conditions of Service) Bill, 2014, made some interesting observations and recommendations.
Except Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and National Industrial Tribunal all other statutory bodies under the First Schedule have been set up after 1976, while most of them having been constituted by Acts of Parliament under enabling Articles of 323A and 323B of the Constitution which were inserted by 42nd Constitutional Amendment.
Tribunals are not part of regular judicial system but are alternate dispute resolution mechanisms created mainly for expeditious disposal of cases under the concerned Act under which those have been set up. Even though some of them are complemental and supplemental to the High Court, they are within the supervisory/writ jurisdiction of the concerned High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.
Some of the Tribunals i.e., National Highway Tribunals, Cyber Appellate Tribunal and Airport Economic Regulatory Appellate Authority are dys-functional due to vacancies therein. The post of Presiding Officer in all eight Benches of National Highway Tribunal (which is a single Member Bench) located at Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jabalpur, Bengaluru, Chennai and Guwahati are lying vacant. The post of Presiding Officer in Cyber Appellate Tribunal is vacant since July, 2011. Therefore, it cannot function in the absence of its Chairperson in view of Section 49 of Information, Technology Act, 2000. The Competition Appellate Tribunal was assigned additional charge of Airport Economic Regulatory Appellate Authority since its inception till 20th August, 2014. Now it is dysfunctional.
The Committee expresses its concern over the sad state of affairs in the Tribunals/Commissions. Some of them are dysfunctional due to large-scale vacancies. Some of the bodies cannot function without the presiding officer in view of the position in the respective Acts. The post of presiding officer of Cyber Appellate Tribunal is vacant therefore the body is dysfunctional in view of Section 49 of Information Technology Act, 2000. |
The Committee has been apprised that most of these Tribunals have not been provided with adequate residential accommodations, proper office infrastructure or adequate supporting staff, many of the posts of those bodies are lying vacant and also cases are mounting in those bodies and the purpose for which those bodies were created have been defeated. |
It is time for Government to provide necessary infrastructure, human and financial resource to the Tribunals for speedy delivery of Justice. |
The authority in decision making of Government should endeavour to deliver fair justice in their day to day functioning and decision taking by proper application of rules, regulations, judicial precedents, directions, etc., as a result of which appeals against their decision could be reduced to minimum and cases before Tribunals will substantially go down. What a dream! |
Until Monday with more DDT
Have a nice weekend.
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