नवीनतम
SC quashes 2021 Tribunal Reforms Act
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the 2021 Tribunal Reforms Act, holding it undermined judicial independence as the government reintroduced certain provisions which were earlier negated by the top court.
The judgment was delivered by a bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai and comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran. The bench decided to quash the provisions of the 2021 Act, on appointment and tenure of tribunal members.
The CJI, pronouncing the judgment on behalf of the bench, said: “we have compared the provisions of the Tribunal Reforms, Ordinance, 2021, and the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. The comparison would show that all provisions which were struck down by this court, with minor tweaking have been reproduced in the enactment”.
He said therefore, we have come to a considered conclusion that the provision of the impugned Act cannot be sustained. "They violate the constitutional principle of separation of powers and judicial independence, which are firmly embedded in the text structure and spirit of the Constitution," the CJI said.
He said the Act directly contradicts binding judicial pronouncements that are repeatedly cited by standards governing the appointment, the tenure, and functioning of the tribunal members. "The impugned Act, merely reproduces its slightly altered form the very provisions earlier struck down. This amounts to legislative override in the strictest sense. Attempt to nullify binding judicial directions without addressing the underlying constitutional infirmity," the bench noted.
It further said the Act failed to remove defects identified in the prior judgment and instead enacts them with a new label.
"Accordingly, the impugned provisions are struck down." The order read.
On November 11, the apex court had reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Act, 2021.
The 2021 Act abolishes certain appellate tribunals, including the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, and amends various terms related to the appointment and tenure of judicial and other members of various tribunals.
The apex court had reserved the judgment after Attorney General R Venkataramani concluded his submissions. The AG requested the bench that the law has been made by Parliament after a long gestation period and let the statute be allowed to hold the field.
The apex court had commenced the final hearing in the case on October 16.
During the hearing, the apex court had asked how the Centre can bring the same Tribunals Reforms law, whose several provisions were quashed by it earlier, with some minor changes and that too without taking away the basis of the judgment.
The petitions have challenged the provisions of the Act on grounds that they violate the principles of judicial independence and the doctrine of separation of powers.
The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 replaced the earlier Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, which had drawn similar constitutional challenges.
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.
The apex court 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.
It 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.
