Tribunal Reforms
Context:
The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021
The challenge, led by the Madras Bar Association (MBA), argues the Act is a direct attempt at legislative overruling of a previous Supreme Court judgment
The dispute centers on provisions, identical to a 2021 ordinance struck down by the SC, which fix the tenure of tribunal members at four years and set a minimum appointment age of 50 years
Evolution of Tribunals in India
The first tribunal, the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal, was established in 1941
Following the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation, the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, inserted:
Article 323-A:
This is empowering Parliament to create administrative tribunals for public service matters
Article 323-B:
This is empowering Parliament and State Legislatures to create tribunals for other specific matters like taxation, land reforms, etc.
This led to the enactment of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
The Finance Act, 2017, merged several tribunals based on functional similarity. It reduces the total from 26 to 19
Powers and Functions
Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies established to discharge judicial or quasi-judicial duties.
They stand midway between a Court and an administrative body
The primary objectives for their creation are:
To reduce the caseload and workload of the judiciary
To provide speedy and cost-effective justice
To offer subject expertise for technical matters.
Tribunals are freed from the technical rules of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act but are bound by the principles of natural justice
Constitutionality and Judicial Review
The 42nd Amendment and the 1985 Act originally excluded the jurisdiction of High Courts under Articles 226/227
In L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997), a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court struck down this exclusion
The Court held that the power of judicial review vested in the High Courts (Articles 226/227) and the Supreme Court (Article 32) is an integral and essential feature and part of the basic structure of the Constitution, which cannot be ousted
The judgment clarified that tribunals will function as supplemental to High Courts and not as substitutes.
Consequently, all decisions of tribunals are subject to scrutiny by a Division Bench of the High Court within whose jurisdiction the tribunal falls.