Different tribunals

Pending cases in the courts have continued to increase at a rapid rate, straining the already overburdened judicial system of India. According to the latest reports, 4 crore cases in India remain to span the High Court, Supreme Court and other courts of lower levels. The problem doesn’t restrict itself to the pending cases, but also the lengthy case documents that consume a lot of time. 

So, to ease this task and reduce the inefficiency that has been created with increasing strain on the judicial system, the Government has introduced Tribunals in the Indian Constitution which are responsible for assisting the courts in solving cases and reducing the degree of pending cases in India. They have been established to decrease the workload of the court. 

Tribunals in Indian Constitution 

Originally the tribunals were not part of the Constitution. They were later added in 1985, which defines tribunals in the polity as a quasi-judicial institution that is accountable for resolving issues related to administration and taxes. The institution was constituted in 1985, to reduce the workload of the courts and enhance the delivery of the decisions regarding the pending disputes in the courts. 

Not all the tribunals have the decision-making powers with them, but those whose decision-making power, conferred to them by the legislative authorities, are the forms of specialised government agencies. It was with the proposal of the Swaran Singh Committee that this board came into existence, through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act. 

The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act added Part XIV A to the Constitution which constitutes two articles, Article 323A and Article 323B. Article 323 A of the Indian Constitution states that Administrative tribunals can be categorised into two types of tribunals, the Central Administrative Tribunal and the State Administrative Tribunal. 

Articles in the Indian Constitution that deals with Tribunals 

The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act added Part XIV A to the Constitution which consists of two articles, Article 323A and Article 323B. 

1) Article 323A

Article 323A of the Indian Constitution deals with the role of tribunals in public services. The tribunals under this case can only be established by the Parliament. Further, it considers one tribunal for the centre and one each for all the states of the country. The Administrative tribunals under this type deal with the disputes related to the recruitment conditions of a person in any of the public services. 

2) Article 323B 

Under this Article of the Indian Constitution, the Parliament and the state legislatures have been authorised to establish tribunals in matters related to land reforms, taxation, Industrial Labour, Foreign exchange, the ceiling on urban property, foodstuff, rent, tenancy rights and election to parliament and the state legislature. Unlike Article 323A which mentions single tribunals for the centre and each state, Article 323B mentions the hierarchy of tribunals for different matters in different regions. 

Types of Tribunals in India 

In India, Tribunals are established for various obligations. Administrative Tribunals were set up in India as a result of the Administrative Tribunals Act of 1985. This tribunal deals with the disputes related to the recruitment conditions of a person in any of the public services. The two types of tribunals in India are Central Administrative Tribunal and State Administrative Tribunal. 

Central Administrative Tribunal 

The Central Administrative Tribunals pertain to the matters with relation to the Central Government employees, government under the control of Government of India, corporations owned by the Indian Government of matters related to employees in the Union Territories of the country.  

Established in November 1985, the Central Administrative Tribunal consists of various members including the chairman of the tribunal, vice-chairman and other members of the tribunal. The meetings under this tribunal consist of 17 major benches, out of which 15 benches operate at the principal bench of the High court and the other two operate at Jaipur and Lucknow. 

State Administrative Tribunal 

The State Administrative Tribunal is guided by Article 323B of the Indian Constitution. It mentions that the authority can establish tribunals related to several other matters as well, including land reforms, taxation, Industrial Labour, Foreign exchange, the ceiling on urban property, foodstuff, rent, tenancy rights and election to parliament and the state legislature. 

Other Types of Tribunals

There are several types of Tribunals currently existing in India. Some of them are mentioned below:

1) Water Dispute Tribunal 

The Parliament of our country has established a water dispute tribunal to deal with the matters related to directing water of Inter-State Rivers and the river valleys of India. 

2) Armed Forces Tribunal 

This military tribunal was set up as a result of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007. It deals with the complaints related to commission, enrollments, appointments and conditions of the services of the person in the military. The tribunal has a central bench in Delhi and various regional benches in Kochi, Chennai, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata. 

3) National Green Tribunal 

With an emerging need for resolving environment related cases, the National Green Tribunal was set up in 2010, with the National Green Tribunal Act 2010. The tribunal deals with cases related to environmental protection and the conservation of the natural resources of the country. Further, one may also get compensation with regards to if the damage has been done on the personal property of an individual. 

Conclusion 

Although the tribunals have boosted the speed of delivery of decisions related to the administration and the taxes, still they have suffered various challenges. The list of challenges may include the problem of autonomy to fund the tribunals and appoint people in them, lack of infrastructure of the tribunal properties, less judicial control with the tribunals and problem of favouritism in the appointment of chairpersons.