Supreme Court Tells Centre To Fill Up Vacancies In Central Administrative Tribunals

Key Takeaways

• The matter was regarding the case of Ajesh Luthra V. Ajay Bhusan Pandey.
• The case was heard by the division bench of Justices LN Rao and BR Gavai.
• The Supreme Court communicated anguish for not filling up the vacancies in the Central Administrative Tribunals despite the recommendations given on the selection process by the Top Court.
• The Apex Court also raised questions on the Tribunal Reform Bill, 2021 which was passed by the Parliament earlier.

Background

• A contempt petition was filed by Ajesh Luthra, President of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Bar Association regarding the contempt of the orders passed by the Top Court which had directed the Government to facilitate the vacancies of 4 posts to the CAT by following the clauses of Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and Other Authorities Rules,2020.
• Senior Advocate Mandir Singh who was appearing for the President of CAT Bar Association said that the Top Court had sent out orders to fill up the vacancies of 4 posts out of which only 2 were appointed.
• He also submitted to the court that the recommendations of names and no of vacancies had been made by following the process of selection and appointment.
• The centre had submitted an affidavit on October 1, 2021, and pointing out the same, the Senior Counsel mentioned that 2 out of 4 appointments were made and at present 34 vacancies are to be filed up.
• Attorney General for India KK Venugopal pointed out paragraphs of the affidavit and shifted the attention of the court to the minutes of the meetings conducted regarding the members of the Central Administrative Tribunals who were appointed.

Courts Observations and Orders

• The court observed the dispute and ordered that the appointments have to be made even if there is an existence of disputes.
• The court further suggested the Attorney General file the minutes of the meeting and then the court would hear the matter after the festival of Dusshera.
• The Supreme Court also ordered to make such appointments within 10 days despite the recommendation given by the selection committee and if they failed to do so the court would intervene and take action.
• The Court also observed that another bench headed by the CJI and Justice DY Chandrachud had taken into consideration the fact that many vacancies remained unfilled in various Tribunals across the country.

Does delay in such appointment affect the functioning of the Central Administrative Tribunals seriously? Is it right on the part of the Central Government to not take such appointments seriously? Do share your views in the comments section.