Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 5

New rules for various tribunals notified by the Centre recently have come under the judicial scanner. The rules purportedly undermine the independence of the quasi-judicial bodies and place them under the control of the very ministries that are respondents in cases filed against themTaking up a petition filed by an ex-serviceman and ex-president of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Bar Association, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Justice Mahesh Grover and Justice Raj Shekhar Attri has issued a notice to the Centre.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Averring that the new rules were in contravention of those laid down by the Supreme Court in the cases of Madras Bar Association and R Gandhi and of the High Court in Navdeep Singh versus Union of India, the petitioner, Surinder Sheoran, contended the government’s action threatened the basic fabric of independence of the tribunals in many ways.The petition states that insofar the AFT is concerned, the government has provided that the tribunal shall function under the Ministry of Defence and that the Defence Secretary, who is the first opposite party in every litigation, shall be a part of the committee for recruiting and re-appointing members of the AFT. He would also be responsible for removal and any inquiry against the members, which was specifically barred by the Supreme Court in Madras Bar Association’s case and by the High Court in Navdeep Singh’s case.Till now, an SC Judge could hold an inquiry against members, but the new rules provide that even absence of a representative of the judiciary in the selection process will not make the appointments invalid. It has also been stated that while the SC had directed a tenure of five to seven years for members to ensure stability, the new rules have decreased it from existing four to three years.The rules have also introduced a new clause wherein any person with experience in business, economics, commerce, finance, accountancy, etc can be an AFT member.What legal experts say

• New rules contravene concept of separation of powers and judicial independence
• Make tribunals, their members subservient to Union secretaries against whom orders are to be passed
• Wrong to reintroduce clauses that have been repeatedly quashed by HCs and SC in a number of cases