What Mess We Have Created By Tribunalisation, Tribunals A Liabiliy : CJI Surya Kant

The Chief Justice of India on Thursday expressed serious displeasure with the functioning of Tribunals in the country, going to the extent of terming them a "liability" and a "mess".

The CJI revealed that he got reliable information that the technical members of an important financial Tribunal in the country were not writing any judgment, and were even outsourcing the writing of judgments; something which was unheard of in the judiciary.

CJI Surya Kant commented that Tribunals are functioning in a "no-man's land" with accountability to none.

A bench comprising CJI, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi was hearing matters related to the extension of tenure of Tribunal members in the wake of the Supreme Court's judgment striking down the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, last year.

During the hearing, CJI said that the Court was not inclined to grant blanket extension to existing members, but was constrained to do due to the unfilling of vacancies.

Addressing the Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, CJI Kant said, "Mr. Attorney, Tribunals are your (Centre) creation, and they have become your headache. They are a headache for you(Centre), and a liability for us. They are a liability for us because of the kind of orders they pass, the way they function and the challenges which come before us. Thanks to the legislative regime, we have created a no-man's land, they (Tribunals) are not accountable to the judiciary and and not accountable to anyone on earth."

CJI further said, "Technical members of one important Tribunal are not writing a single judgment, they are insisting that judicial members write the judgment. They are insisting the judicial members write judgments in their name. I know the audacity of one technical member, who asked the judicail member to write judgment in his name. Some technical members are outsourcing the writing judgments, something completely unheard in the judicial system. I am really perturbed. What a mess we have in the name of creating Tribunal, only with the anxiety that the High Courts should not exercise Constitutional powers."

CJ said that due to tribunalisation, the High Court judges are now not getting exposure to subjects like IBC, environmental law, commercial law etc.

Recently, while extending the term of the DRAT Allahabad Chairman until the new appointment, the Court had asked the Union to come up with a concrete plan on streamlining the Tribunal appointments, in terms of the directions in the Madras Bar Association case which struck down the Tribunal Reforms Act 2021.

Today, the bench also passed a direction to extend the term of existing Chairperson/Members of Tribunals as an interim measure till further orders.

Case : MADRAS BAR ASSOCIATION Vs UNION OF INDIA | D No. 10627/2026 and connected cases.