NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down key provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, holding that Parliament had “repackaged” provisions earlier invalidated by the apex court without curing their constitutional defects.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai held that the Act was “almost verbatim” a replica of what had already been annulled in the Madras Bar Association case, adding that the Union government had repeatedly “chosen not to accept” settled law despite more than three decades of consistent jurisprudence.
“We must express our disapproval of the manner in which the Union of India has repeatedly chosen to not accept the directions of this Court on the very issues that have already been conclusively settled through a series of judgments, ” the CJI-led Bench observed.
“It is indeed unfortunate that instead of giving effect to the well-established principles laid down by this Court on the question of the independence and functioning of tribunals, the legislature has chosen to re-enact or re-introduce provisions that reopen the same constitutional debates under different enactments and rules, ” added the apex court.
Quoting Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Supreme Court remarked that "repeated reenactment" shows that the “form of the administration” is being made “inconsistent” with the spirit of the Constitution.
“These are provisions which have already been judicially tested and struck down. Merely shifting the same content … does not cure the constitutional defects. It simply re-enacts them in another avatar. The Impugned Act, therefore, does not ‘cure’ the law declared earlier, but consciously defies it, ” the judgment held.
It added that recurrent legislative attempts to reintroduce struck-down provisions not only violated structural constitutional principles but also burdened courts and litigants.
“In a judicial system already burdened with a staggering pendency… the continued recurrence of such issues consumes valuable judicial time that could otherwise be devoted to adjudicating matters of pressing public and constitutional importance, ” the Supreme Court said.
The CJI Gavai-led Bench granted the Centre four months to set up a National Tribunals Commission, describing it as an “essential structural safeguard” to ensure independence from executive control, transparency in appointments, and uniformity in administration.
It reiterated that unless a fresh, constitutionally-compliant law is enacted, the principles in Madras Bar Association cases (2021 and 2022) will continue as the “controlling framework” governing appointments, qualifications, tenure, and service conditions for all tribunals across India.