The Supreme Court finally approved the Central Government’s proposal to extend the term of chairpersons and members of various tribunals in the country on Monday. As per the proposal, those who were due to retire soon will now continue to serve till September 8.
The approval was given by a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi. Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani informed the top court that the Union Government is considering bringing in a new Tribunal Bill related to the tribunals’ functioning and appointments of their members either in the ongoing Budget session or the Monsoon session of Parliament.
He said that to avoid any confusion or problem in the functioning of tribunals, the government has decided to give an extension of tenure to all members who are set to retire in the interregnum till September 8 of this year.
The AG told the court that everybody who was appointed under the Tribunal Reforms Act of 2021 will continue to serve, and by September a new law will be enacted. He added that about 21 members are due to retire in the meantime.
It should be reminded here that the top court had struck down, through its ruling in November 2025, the provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, on appointment and tenure of tribunal members, for being violative of its earlier judgments on the issue.
The AG informed the court that the new bill will be in accordance with last year’s verdict and smooth the functioning and appointments of members in various tribunals.
CJI Kant once again raised the issue of the lack of accountability of tribunals and said they should be responsible to some authority.
“If their work is not up to the mark, why should their tenure be at all extended?” the CJI remarked.
The CJI opined that there should be a comprehensive law fixing accountability of members of tribunals. This is not the first time that the apex court has voiced its reservation about the tribunal. It had expressed serious displeasure over the functioning of tribunals in the country on February 26, saying they have become a “liability” and “mess” without any “accountability,” and flagged that technical members of a financial tribunal were even “outsourcing writing of judgement.”
The Supreme Court’s observations came while hearing a plea for the extension of tenure of tribunal members, including chairpersons, in the wake of last year’s verdict, which struck down the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021.
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