Twitter
Advertisement

SC clears way for appointments

The interim order passed by a three-judge bench will apply till the court deliberates on a bunch of pleas challenging the 2017 Finance Act and the rules governing the panels (Tribunal Rules) starting after 12 weeks

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that selections and appointments to all 19 tribunals in the country including the CAT and NGT would be done as per the old rules, instead of the new Finance Act, 2017, clearing the way for stalled appointments.

The interim order passed by a three-judge bench will apply till the court deliberates on a bunch of pleas challenging the 2017 Finance Act and the rules governing the panels (Tribunal Rules) starting after 12 weeks. The Act was introduced as a Money Bill last year and passed by Parliament.

In compliance with a December 2017 SC order, the Centre had filed an affidavit with a proposal to modify the Tribunal Rules on January 4, 2018. In the December order, the apex court had also directed amicus curiae Arvind Datar and advocate Mohan Parasaran to "peruse the same and point out anything contrary to the Attorney General before the matter is taken up by the court".

Responding to a draft of the revised rules in the Finance Act, Datar submitted that amending provisions relating to appointments and selections for the tribunals through a 'money bill' is a "procedural illegality, smacks of constitutional impropriety and amounts to fraud on the Constitution."

The bench was hearing pleas filed by petitioners, including Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, against the new Act and the rules, which they claimed infringed on the independence of tribunals, as they give primacy to the executive in deciding qualifications of members.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement