Supreme Court Surprised Over Vacancies In ITAT Administrative Staff, Seeks Attorney General's Intervention

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed surprise over the large number of vacancies in the administrative staff of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunals (ITAT) and sought the intervention of the Attorney General for India to ensure that the posts are filled at the earliest.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a writ petition filed by Praveen Kumar Bansal concerning the longstanding vacancies in the tribunal's administrative setup.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing in the matter, submitted that several key administrative posts in the ITAT have remained vacant for years, affecting its functioning.

"All posts of officers are lying vacant for a number of years," Rohatgi told the Court. He further pointed out that vacancies extended across the administrative hierarchy. "Assistant Registrars are vacant, PSCs are vacant, everything is vacant," he said, adding that the Court could issue a short notice and take up the issue on the administrative side.

The Chief Justice responded that the Court was itself taken aback by the situation.

"We will do something because we are also surprised that why these posts are long vacant," the CJI remarked.

Seeking clarity on the extent of the issue, the bench asked whether the vacancies were confined to the principal bench or extended to regional benches as well.

Rohatgi responded that the problem was widespread.

"Everywhere. For 10 years the posts are lying vacant. I don't know how it functions," he submitted.

Taking note of the submissions, the Court said it would request the Attorney General to look into the matter.

"We will request the Attorney General to look into it," the CJI said.

As per the order, the Court directed that a copy of the petition be supplied to the office of the Attorney General to ensure that the unfilled posts in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal are filled at the earliest.

The petition sought directions to immediately initiate and complete the process of filling vacant posts of Deputy Registrar and Assistant Registrar in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, as highlighted in a representation dated December 27, 2025. It also sought a direction to convene the long-pending Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for promotions to posts such as Senior Private Secretary, Private Secretary and other subordinate staff, which, according to the plea, have remained pending since 2015/2017. Additionally, the petitioner sought a status report from the authorities specifying the timeline for filling up the vacancies.

Case : PARVEEN KUMAR BANSAL Vs UNION OF INDIA | W.P.(C) No. 617/2026