Centre to amend Rules on appointments and service conditions of tribunal members

The Central government today agreed that it will place before the Supreme Court, a draft of the amended Tribunal, Appellate and other Authorities (Qualifications, Experience and other conditions of Service of Members) Rules, 2017..Attorney General KK Venugopal made submissions to that effect before a Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud in the petitions challenging the provisions of Finance Act and the Rules made thereunder..A slew of petitions were filed in the Supreme Court and various High Courts across the country assailing the Act and Rules on various grounds.One major issue raised by the petitioners pertain to the Rules, which provide for appointment, qualifications, terms of office and removal of Chairperson and members of Tribunals. It is their contention that the said Rules violate independence of the judiciary and impinge upon the doctrine of separation of powers.The petitioners have specifically attacked Rules 7 and 8, which provide that retired judges of High Court and Supreme Court, who are appointed to tribunals, can be removed by Central government after a departmental inquiry.Besides, the petitions have contended that the said Rules run contrary to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the 2010 case of Union of India vs R Gandhi.When the matter was heard today, the petitioner were particularly critical of the selection mechanism which they contended was against the concept of seperation of powers.It was their contention that the new Rules vested the power of appointments with the Executive and thus ran contrary to the judgments in R Gandhi and Madras Bar Association.Attorney General KK Venugopal submitted that the Centre would be amending the Rules.The Court proceeded to record the following in its order:“The Attorney General shall file the amended draft Rules. The said Rules shall be in consonance with the judgments of this Court”.The matter will now be taken up on January 4.