1. Dispute regarding the tenure and superannuation age of members in various tribunals, specifically the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal. (Para 2 )
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2018 Supreme(SC) 836
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
DIPAK MISRA, CJI., A M KHANWILKAR, D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, JJ.
KUDRAT SANDHU – Petitioner
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA AND ANR – Respondents
WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO 279, 558, 561, 640, 1016, 788, 925, 1098 & 1129 OF 2017 With WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO 33, 205 & 467 OF 2018 And WITH TRANSFERRED CASE (CIVIL) NO 49, 51 OF 2018
Decided On : 21-08-2018
Important Points
The Court clarified the superannuation ages for various tribunals: ITAT and CESTAT members until 62 and presidents until 65; AFT members until 65 and certain chairpersons until 70; and CAT members according to existing old rules.
Subject
Administrative Law - Tribunal Tenure and Appointments
Headnote
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Challenge to the interpretation that judicial members of CESTAT must vacate office after five years even if they have not reached the superannuation age of 62. (Para 2 )
3. Limiting a judicial member's tenure to five years when it expires before the superannuation age of 62 is manifestly inappropriate. (Para 2 )
4. Members of CESTAT and ITAT shall serve until age 62 and Presidents until age 65, overriding the five-year tenure limit. (Para 1 , 2 )
5. Clarified superannuation ages for CESTAT, AFT, and CAT members and ordered a status report on tribunal vacancies from the Union government. (Para 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 )
6. What is the superannuation age for members and presidents of the ITAT and CESTAT?
Members of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal shall continue in office until the age of 62 years, while the President of these tribunals shall continue until the age of 65 years. (Para 1 , 2 )
7. What are the superannuation ages for members and chairpersons of the Armed Forces Tribunal?
Members of the Armed Forces Tribunal shall hold office until the age of 65 years, and Chairpersons who were former Judges of the Supreme Court shall hold office until the age of 70 years. (Para 3 )
8. Which rules govern the tenure and superannuation of members of the Central Administrative Tribunal?
The old rules and provisions continue to apply to the members of the Central Administrative Tribunal. (Para 4 )
ORDER
Dr. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.
1. By an order dated 20 March 2018, we had clarified the previous order dated 9 February 2018. Clause (iii) of the clarifications is relevant and reads as follows:
“(iii) The tenure of the Chairperson and the Judicial/Administrative/Expert/Technical Members of all the
Tribunals shall be for a period of five years or the maximum age that was fixed/determined under the old Acts and Rules;”
On 16 July 2018, this Court issued the following directions in regard to the age of the superannuation of Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal:
“At this juncture, we may note that there is some confusion with regard to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) as regards the age of superannuation. We make it clear that the person selected as Member of the ITAT will continue till the age of 62 years and the person holding the post of President, shall continue till the age of 65 years.”
CESTAT:
2. In IA 113281 of 2018, the applicant is an Additional District and Sessions Judge in the State of West Bengal, who has been selected as Member (Judicial) in the CESTAT. The notification of appointment of six officers who have been selected as Member (Judicial), including the applicant, stipulates that they shall hold office for a period of five years or till attaining the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier “in terms of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order dated 20 March 2018”. A member of the judicial service would have ordinarily continued until the date of superannuation in the state judicial service, subject to the service rules. It would be manifestly inappropriate to adopt an interpretation as a result of which, upon assuming office as Member (Judicial) in CESTAT the officer will have a tenure which will expire after five years, if it falls prior to attaining the age of 62 years. We, accordingly, are of the view that the clarification issued for the ITAT in the order dated 20 March 2018 needs to be reiterated in the case of the members of the CESTAT, which we do. We clarify that a person selected as Member of the CESTAT will continue until the age of 62 years while a person holding the post of President shall continue until the age of 65 years.
AFT:
3. Members of the Armed Forces Tribunal shall hold office until the attainment of the age of 65 years. Chairpersons who have been former Judges of the Supreme Court shall hold office until the attainment of the age of 70 years.
CAT:
4. In the case of the Central Administrative Tribunal, we clarify that the old rules/provisions shall continue to apply.
5. We direct the Union government to file a status report before this Court within a period of two weeks setting out position with respect to each Tribunal, including the vacancies and the stage of the selection process. IA No.113281 of 2018 is disposed of accordingly.
