Little accountability put on heads & members of tribunals, says SC

NEW DELHI: Expressing serious concern over the functioning of tribunals, Supreme Court on Monday said little accountability was fastened on chairpersons and members of such bodies as they continued even when they were not good enough to write judgments or decide cases expeditiously.

"They cannot be put under the control of the govt. They are not under judicial control. So, whom are they accountable to? There are administrative members who do not write a single judgment. This is very concerning," a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said while deliberating on petitions challenging various provisions of Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021.

Attorney general R Venkataramani said the govt was in the process of finalising certain amendments to the 2021 law, which was challenged by various bar associations on grounds that these breached the SC judgment prescribing five-year tenure and other service conditions, including allowing administrative members to head tribunals.

The AG said the changes would be formalised in six months and till then, those working in tribunals would not have to demit office even after completion of their four-year tenure. There would thus be no problem of vacancies disrupting the working of the tribunals, he added.

Addressing senior advocate Sanjay Jain's concerns, the CJI said, "Immediate concern is, what should be the mechanism to make the members accountable? The law can be tested later. What should be done to ensure that administrative members contribute to the adjudicatory process. If they are incapable, they have no right to continue."

Allowing the govt to formalise the changes it is contemplating in the working of tribunals, the bench asked the petitioner bar associations to submit suggestions for fastening accountability on tribunal members. The bench agreed with Venkataramani, who said the case could be heard again in May by which time the govt would have made substantial progress in formulating the changes.


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