University Institute of Legal Studies
Administrative Tribunals: Compositions, Powers and
Procedure under Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
Subject- Service Law
Submitted to:
Dr. Shalu Nuniwal
Submitted by:
Shivam Sharma
2096/20
Master of laws, Semester-3
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I, Shivam Sharma, would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my Teacher, Dr. Shalu
Nuniwal who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on ‘Administrative
Tribunals: Compositions, Powers and Procedures under Administrative Tribunals Act,1985’,
which helped me in doing a lot of Research and I came to know about so many new things. I am
really grateful to them for this learning curve.
I would like to extend my acknowledgement towards them for their valuable criticism and
benevolent assistance as well as consistent support throughout the phase of this project compiling.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..4
Objctives and Applicability…………...…………………………………………………………4
Composition and Qualifications………………………………………………………………. 5
Term of Office…………………………………………………………………………………...6
Resignstion and Removal………………………………...………………………………...…...6
Jurisdiction………………………………………………………………………………….…..7
Powers and Procedure……….………………………………………………………………….8
Case Laws………………….…………………………………………………………………....9
Advantages and Drawbacks...……………………...………...………………………………..10
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….11
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………….….12
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Introduction
In pursuance of the provisions in Article 323A, Parliament passed the Administrative Tribunal Act,
1985, providing for all the matters falling within the clause(1) of Article 323-A.
According to this Act, there must be a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) at the centre and a
State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) at the state level for every state.
The tribunal is competent to declare the constitutionality of the relevant laws and statutes. The Act
extends to, in so far as it is related to the Central Administrative Tribunal, to the whole of India and
in relation to the Administrative tribunals for states, it is applicable to the whole of India except the
State of Jammu and Kashmir (Section 1).
Objective for the establishment of Administrative
Tribunals
The main purpose of the introduction of this act was :
1. To relieve congestion in courts or to lower the burden of cases in courts.
2. To provide for speedier disposal of disputes relating to the service matters.
Applicability of the Act
According to Section 2 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, the act applies to all Central
Government employees except –
The members of the naval, military or air force or any other armed forces of the Union
Any officer or servant of the Supreme Court or any High Courts
Any person appointed to the secretariat staff of either House of the Parliament.
Composition of the Tribunals and Bench
Section 4 of this Act describes the composition of the tribunals and bench. Each tribunal shall consist
of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Judicial and Administrative members. Every bench must include at
least one judicial and one administrative member. The benches of the Central Tribunal shall
ordinarily sit at New Delhi, Allahabad, Calcutta, Madras, Bombay and such other place as the
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Central Government specifies. The Chairman may transfer the Vice Chairman or other members
from one bench to another bench.
Qualification and Appointment of Members
Section 6 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, lays the provisions specifying the qualifications
and appointment of the members of tribunals.
Chairman: To be appointed as a chairman, a person must have the following qualifications-
He is or has been a judge of a High Court or
He has held the office of Vice Chairman for two years or
He has held the post of secretary to the Government of India or
He has held any other post carrying the scale pay of secretary.
Vice-Chairman: A person is qualified for the post of Vice-Chairman if he-
Is or has been a judge of the High Court or
Has for 2 years held the post of Secretary to the Government or holding any other post
carrying the same pay scale under the Central or State Governments or
Has held for 5 years the post of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India or any
other post carrying the scales of pay of Additional Secretary.
Judicial Member: A person to be appointed as a judicial member must-
Be or have been a judge of the High Court or
Have been a member of Indian Legal Service and has held a post in Grade I of the service
for at least 3 years.
Administrative Member: A person to be appointed as an Administrative member must-
Have held the post of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India or another
equivalent post for at least 2 years, or
Have held the post of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India or other equivalent
post, or
Have adequate administrative experience.
The Chairman, Vice-Chairman and other members shall be appointed by the President. The Judicial
Members shall be appointed by the President with the consultation of the Chief Justice of India. The
Chairman, Vice-Chairman and other members of the State Tribunal shall be appointed by the
President after consultation with the Governor of the concerned state.
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Term of Office
According to Section 8 of the Act, the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and other members of the tribunal
shall hold the office for a term of 5 years or until he attains-
1. Age of 65 years, in the case of the Chairman or Vice-Chairman
2. Age of 62 years in the case of other members
Resignation and Removal
Section 9 of the Act prescribes the procedure of resignation by any member and removal of any
member.
The Chairman, Vice-Chairman or other members may resign from his post by writing to the
President.
They shall be removed from their office only by an order made by the President on the ground of
proved misbehaviour or incapacity after an enquiry made by a judge of the Supreme Court. They
shall have the right to be informed of the charges against them and shall be given a reasonable
opportunity of hearing. The Central Government may make rules to regulate the procedure for the
investigation of the charges against them.
Jurisdiction of Central Tribunal
Section 14 states that the Central Tribunal from the day of the appointment shall exercise all the
jurisdiction, powers and authority in relation to the following matters which were within the
jurisdiction of other courts (except the Supreme Court) before the enactment of this Act:
1. Recruitment of any civil service of Union or All India service or civil post under the
Union or civilian employees of defence services;
2. All service matters of the above-mentioned employees, and also of employees of any
local or other authority within the territory of India or under the control of the
Government of India or any corporation or society owned or controlled by the
Government;
All service matters of such persons whose services have been placed by the State
Government or any local or other authority or any corporation at the disposal of the
Central Government.
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Jurisdiction of State Administrative Tribunals (S.15)
1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the Administrative Tribunal for a State shall
exercise, on and from the appointed day, all the jurisdiction, powers and authority exercisable
immediately before that day by all courts (except the Supreme Court 1***) in relation
(a) recruitment, and matters concerning recruitment, to any civil service of the State or to any
civil post under the State;
(b) all service matters concerning a person not being a person referred to in clause (c) of this
sub-section or a member, person or civilian referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section
14 appointed to any civil service of the State or any civil post under the State and pertaining to
the service of such person in connection with the affairs of the State or of any local or other
authority under the control of the State Government or of any corporation 2[or society] owned or
controlled by the State Government;
(c) all service matters pertaining to service in connection with the affairs of the State concerning
a person appointed to any service or post referred to in clause (b), being a person whose service
have been placed by any such local or other authority or corporation 2[or society] or other body
as is controlled or owned by the State Government, at the disposal of the State Government for
such appointment.
(2) The State Government may, by notification, apply with effect from such date as may be
specified in the notification the provisions of sub-section (3) to local or other authorities and
corporations 2[or societies] controlled or owned by the State Government:
Provided that if the State Government considers it expedient so to do for the purpose of
facilitating transition to the scheme as envisaged by this Act, different dates may be so specified
under this sub-section in respect of different classes of, or different categories under any class of,
local or other authorities or corporations 2[or societies].
(3) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the Administrative Tribunal for a State shall
also exercise, on and from the date with effect from which the provisions of this sub-section
apply to any local or other authority or corporation 2[or society], all the jurisdiction, powers and
authority exercisable immediately before that date by all courts (except the Supreme Court 1***)
in relation to--
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(a) recruitment, and matters concerning recruitment, to any service or post in connection with
the affairs of such local or other authority or corporation 2[or society]; and
(b) all service matters concerning a person [other than a person referred to in clause (b) of sub-
section (1) of this section or a member, person or civilian referred to in clause (b) of sub-
section (1) of section 14] appointed to any service or post in connection with the affairs of such
local or other authority or corporation 2[or society] and pertaining to the service of such person
in connection with such affair
(4) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the jurisdiction, powers and authority of
the Administrative Tribunal for a State shall not extend to, or be exercisable in relation to, any
matter in relation to which the jurisdiction, powers and authority of the Central Administrative
Tribunal extends or is exercisable.
Procedure and Powers of Tribunals
Section 22 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 lays down the powers and procedure of
tribunals discussed below-
1. A tribunal is not bound to follow the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908. It has the power to regulate its own procedure but must abide by the principle of
natural justice.
2. A tribunal shall decide the applications and cases made to it as rapidly as possible and
every application shall be decided after scrutinizing the documents and written
submissions and perceiving the oral arguments.
3. Tribunals have the same powers as vested by the civil courts under the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908, while trying a suit, with regard to the following subject-matter-
4. Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
5. Production of documents;
6. Receiving evidence on affidavits;
7. Ask for any public record or document from any office under Section 123 and 124 of the
Indian Evidence Act, 1872;
8. Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents;
9. Reviewing its decisions;
10. Deciding the case ex-parte;
11. Setting aside any order passed by it ex-parte;
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12. Any other matter prescribed by the Central Government.
Leading Case Laws
Case: S.P. Sampath Kumar v. Union of India1
Facts: The constitutional validity of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, was predominantly
challenged on the ground that this Act excludes the jurisdiction of High Courts under Articles 226
and 227 with regard to service matters and hence, destroyed the concept of judicial review which was
an essential feature of the Indian Constitution.
Judgment: A five-Judge Bench of the Court upheld the validity of the Act except Section 6(1)(c).
The court held that although this Act has excluded the jurisdiction of judicial review exercised by the
High Courts in the service matters it has not entirely excluded the concept of judicial review. The
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 32 and 136 has not been excluded by this Act and
kept unscathed.
Thus, there still exists an authority where matters of injustice can be entertained by judicial review.
The judicial review which is the part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution can be taken
away from a particular area only if an alternative effectual institutional mechanism or authority is
provided.
However, Section 6 (1)(c) of the Act was held to be unconstitutional as it gave unrestricted power to
the Government to appoint the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and other members of the tribunals. These
appointments must be made by the Government in a meaningful and effective manner only after
consulting the Chief Justice of India.
The court recommended that the term of 5 years prescribed under the Act for Chairman, Vice-
Chairman and other members of the tribunal is not rational because it would act as dissuasion for the
good and generous people to accept the job in the tribunal and should, therefore, be reasonably
extended.
The directions given by the Supreme Court came into effect through the Administrative Tribunals
(Amendment) Act, 1987.
Case: Union of India v. R. Gandhi, President, Madras Bar Association 2
Facts: The constitutionality of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company
Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on the following grounds-
1
1987 SCR (3) 233
2
1992 (2) SCC 428
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1. Parliament does not have authority to vest the judicial functions in any tribunal that have
been traditionally performed by the High Courts since so long.
2. Transferring the entire company jurisdiction of the High Court to the tribunal are violative
of the doctrine of Rule of Law, Separation of Powers and Independence of the Judiciary.
3. The various provisions of Part 1B and 1C of the Companies Act are defective and
unconstitutional, being in breach of constitutional principles of Rule of Law, Separation
of Powers and Independence of the Judiciary.
Judgment: the court upheld the constitutionality of NCLT and NCLAT in exercising the powers and
jurisdiction of the High Court subject to necessary changes to be made in the Companies Act,
1956 as amended in 2002, through suitable amendments
The court acknowledged and upheld the constitutional power of the Parliament to constitute tribunals
for adjudication of disputes. The legislative competence of Parliament to provide for the creation of
courts and tribunals can be traced to Article 245, 246 and 247 of the Constitution read with various
entries in the Union List and the Concurrent List which is in no way affected or controlled by Article
323A or 323B of the Constitution.
The court further added that it cannot be assumed that constitution of tribunals and transferring
judicial powers per se infringe the rule of law, separation of powers and independence of the
judiciary because the Constitution enables both courts and tribunals to exercise judicial powers.
What matters the most is whether the constituted tribunals respect and maintain the principles of
separation of powers, rule of law and independence of the judiciary. The constitution of NCLT and
NCLAT must be subject to judicial review so that the court in the exercise of judicial review look
into the matter to check if these principles are compromised by such tribunalisation and may interfere
in between to preserve the same.
Advantages of Administrative Tribunals
The concept of administrative tribunals was introduced because it has certain advantages over
ordinary courts. Few of them are mentioned below-
Flexibility: The introduction of administrative tribunals engendered flexibility and
versatility in the judicial system of India. Unlike the procedures of the ordinary court
which are stringent and inflexible, the administrative tribunals have a quite informal and
easy-going procedure.
Speedy Justice: The core objective of the administrative tribunal is to deliver quick and
quality justice. Since the procedure here is not so complex, so, it is easy to decide the
matters quickly and efficiently.
Less Expensive: The Administrative Tribunals take less time to solve the cases as
compared to the ordinary courts. As a result, the expenses are reduced. On the other hand,
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the ordinary courts have cumbrous and slow-going, thus, making the litigation costly.
Therefore, the administrative tribunals are cheaper than ordinary courts.
Quality Justice: If we consider the present scenario, the administrative tribunals are the
best and the most effective method of providing adequate and quality justice in less time.
Relief to Courts: The system of administrative adjudication has lowered down the burden
of the cases on the ordinary courts.
Drawbacks of Administrative Tribunals
Although, administrative tribunals play a very crucial role in the welfare of modern society, yet it has
some defects in it. Some of the criticisms of the administrative tribunal are discussed below-
Against the Rule of Law: It can be observed that the establishment of the administrative
tribunals has repudiated the concept of rule of law. Rule of law was propounded to
promote equality before the law and supremacy of ordinary law over the arbitrary
functioning of the government. The administrative tribunals somewhere restrict the ambit
of the rule of law by providing separate laws and procedures for certain matters.
Lack of specified procedure: The administrative adjudicatory bodies do not have any rigid
set of rules and procedures. Thus, there is a chance of violation of the principle of natural
justice.
No prediction of future decisions: Since the administrative tribunals do not follow
precedents, it is not possible to predict future decisions.
Scope of Arbitrariness: The civil and criminal courts work on a uniform code of
procedure as prescribed under C.P.C and Cr.P.C respectively. But the administrative
tribunals have no such stringent procedure. They are allowed to make their own procedure
which may lead to arbitrariness in the functioning of these tribunals.
Absence of legal expertise: It is not necessary that the members of the administrative
tribunals must belong to a legal background. They may be the experts of different fields
but not essentially trained in judicial work. Therefore, they may lack the required legal
expertise which is an indispensable part of resolving disputes.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that in the present scenario, the administration has become an important part of
the government as well as the citizen’s life. Due to this increasing role, it is important to establish a
competent authority for the redressal of people’s grievances and adjudication of the disputes.
Therefore, the concept of administrative tribunals was emerged and is dynamically flourishing in
India holding certain flaws and strengths.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Doabia and Doabia, The Law of Services and Dismissals, 2015, Lexis Nexis, New Delhi
M.R. Mallick, Srvic Law in India
Narendra Kumar, Law relating to Government Servants and Management of Disciplinary
Proceedings
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