"Taking It Lightly": Supreme Court Pulls Up Centre Over Tribunal Vacancies

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, which has been proactively dealing with the issue of huge vacancies in various tribunals across the country, said that after a few appointments made initially, nothing substantial happened.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rued the "knee jerk" actions in filling up vacant posts in tribunals, saying the bureaucracy has been taking up the issue "lightly".

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, which has been proactively dealing with the issue of huge vacancies in various tribunals across the country, said that after a few appointments made initially, nothing substantial happened.

"We are getting (pleas for) extension of time for the members of the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) ...Some knee-jerk appointments took place and nothing happened after that. We do not know the fate of members and many are retiring. Bureaucracy is taking it (the issue) lightly," observed the bench which also comprised justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli.

Attorney General K K Venugopal, who has been assisting the bench in dealing with the vacancies-related matters, attempted to show the list of vacancies and the steps taken to fill them up.