SC commences final hearing on pleas challenging validity of Tribunal Reforms Act

New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday commenced the final hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of various provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was addressed by senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for lead petitioner Madras Bar Association.

The senior lawyer said that in July 2021, the top court quashed several provisions of the Tribunal Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021 and found that they infringed upon the principles of judicial independence and the separation of powers.

The Centre came up with the Tribunal Reforms Act after the apex court verdict quashed several provisions of the ordinance, he said.

Strangely, the Act "verbatim" contained the provisions of the ordinance which were struck down by the top court which is impermissible unless the basis of the judgement is removed by the government, he said.

"Leave aside the text, even semi-colon is copy pasted from the provisions of the Ordinance," he said, adding that there were judgements which held that the executive cannot override a judgement without removing the basis.

The bench will resume hearing on October 27.

The top court had struck down the provision of the ordinance that reduced the tenure of tribunal members and chairpersons to four years, noting that a short term of office could encourage executive influence over the judiciary.

It had held that the tenure must be five years to ensure security of service, with a maximum age of 70 for chairpersons and 67 for members.

The bench had also struck down the minimum age of 50 for appointments to tribunals.

It stressed the need to induct younger members to ensure the judiciary remains robust and vibrant, stating that a minimum of 10 years of practice should be a sufficient qualification for judicial members, similar to what is required for High Court judges.

The verdict had also rejected the government's power to make appointments from a panel of two names recommended by the Search-cum-Selection Committee.

The ordinance was promulgated in April 2021.

After the apex court verdict, the government in August introduced and passed the Tribunals Reforms Act with provisions almost identical to those that were struck down. PTI SJK ZMN