Tribunalisation in India: Delays, Overreach and Reforms
Why in the news
Tribunals were created to reduce pressure on courts, but the trend of tribunalisation has produced slow, overloaded bodies that repeat the courts’ own problems.
Key facts
- A tribunal is a quasi-judicial body that settles administrative, tax and similar disputes outside the regular court system.
- NCLAT merged with the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) in 2017; it now hears Companies Act, IBC and competition matters, causing delays and lost competition expertise.
- DRT, set up to speed loan recovery, holds 215,431 pending cases; recovery dropped to 9.2% in 2022-23.
- APTEL has vacancies that hold up reforms in the power sector.
- The AGR case, where the Supreme Court reversed a TDSAT ruling, shows how overturned decisions erode credibility.
Tribunal problems at a glance
| Body or issue | Problem |
|---|---|
| NCLAT | Overloaded after merger; slower resolution |
| DRT | Huge backlog; poor recovery |
| APTEL | Vacancies; delayed power sector reform |
| Appointments | Retired judges and bureaucrats dominate; little technical expertise |
| Oversight | No central regulatory authority |
| Appeals | High Courts and Supreme Court often override tribunals (e.g. CAT cases under Articles 226/227) |
Concerns
- Delays create regulatory uncertainty, deterring investment in finance, energy and telecom.
- Merging tribunals into courts has not helped; it adds to the judiciary’s load.
- Post-retirement placements may lack accountability.
Way forward
- Follow L. Chandra Kumar (1997) and create an independent oversight authority.
- Form a National Administrative Appellate Tribunal for CAT and SAT appeals.
- Introduce double-shift working (discussed in 2011) and use better case management and digitisation.
- Appoint domain experts on merit, not only retired judges and bureaucrats.
- Government must give tribunal reform priority.
Exam angle
- COMPAT merged into NCLAT: 2017.
- L. Chandra Kumar case: 1997; Law Commission 272nd Report: 2017.
- Proposed body: National Administrative Appellate Tribunal.