Supreme Court urges Centre to extend tribunal members' tenure amid vacancies

The Supreme Court has directed the Central government to explore extending the tenure of tribunal members nearing retirement to mitigate the impact of vacancies across various quasi-judicial bodies. The directive emerged during submissions on vacancies affecting the functioning of tribunals including the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT), where several members are scheduled to retire in the near term. The Court's intervention highlights concerns about delays in judicial proceedings at the tribunal level due to insufficient strength of benches. The government's top law officer acknowledged the submissions and indicated willingness to examine the feasibility of tenure extensions as a stopgap measure. The move underscores the persistent challenge of filling tribunal vacancies in a timely manner, a longstanding issue that has impacted case disposal rates and access to justice across appellate forums dealing with specialized matters including debt recovery and taxation.