New Delhi: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Monday supported the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 which seeks to abolish several appellate tribunals and transfer their functions, such as adjudication of appeals, to other existing judicial bodies. The party, however, demanded filling up of vacancies in several tribunals.
Speaking on the Bill on behalf of the party in the Upper House, BJD MP Sujeet Kumar said that the tribunal system needs reforms and this Bill will fast-track justice by reducing an extra layer of litigation. He said that the two main reasons to establish the tribunals were to unclog the courts, and the lack of specialised skills in courts’ part. It was expected that the tribunals would provide specialised skills to deal with the matters.
The BJD MP raised apprehension about the short tenure of members as stated in the Bill. He said that the four-year term of office is lower than the minimum term of five years as directed by the Supreme Court.
Kumar also raised concern over executive hold on the judiciary. “I share the concern that the short tenure of members along with eligibility of re-appointment ensures executive hold on the tribunals,” he said.
The BJD MP urged the Union government to consider the issue of vacancies in tribunals with utmost seriousness. There are many vacancies in the tribunals and these should be filled up in a time-bound manner.
Stating that there is huge pendency of cases in the high courts, Kumar said the abolishment of these tribunals will further increase the pending cases.
Significantly, the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill by voice vote while a statutory motion moved by the Opposition members to send it to a select committee was negated by a division vote. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha August 3.
Tribunals that the Bill seeks to abolish include Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, Airports Appellate Tribunal, Authority for Advance Rulings, Intellectual Property Appellate Board and Plant Varieties Protection Appellate Tribunal. The functions of these will be transferred to the existing judicial bodies.
