The Supreme Court expressed concerns about the rising litigation costs and inefficiencies in State Administrative Tribunals due to unfilled vacancies, suggesting that High Courts could handle related petitions more effectively.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday raised concerns over the rising cost of litigation for the public and the increasing number of petitions that delay case disposals. The Court questioned whether it was prudent for the Centre to continue having State Administrative Tribunals (SATs) when vacancies remain unfilled for long periods.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh made these remarks while hearing a plea regarding the filling of vacancies in the Karnataka SAT. The bench pointed out that petitions for filling vacancies in these tribunals kept coming up repeatedly, highlighting the inefficiency in their operation.
“What is the point in keeping these institutions when we don’t have manpower to manage it?”
the bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who was representing the Centre.
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The Court observed that maintaining SATs only increases litigation costs as people challenge tribunal orders before High Courts, which then send the matters back to the tribunals, further delaying case resolutions.
Bhati responded that these were policy decisions taken at the highest level. The bench acknowledged the statutory requirement of having Central Administrative Tribunals (CATs) and SATs in every state but questioned if they “really served the purpose.”
Justice Surya Kant suggested an alternative:
“The petitions which are filed before these tribunals can be dealt by the High Court. If we increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the High Court, it will serve the purpose and expedite the hearing of service-related cases.“
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Recalling his tenure as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Surya Kant mentioned that instead of filling tribunal vacancies, he requested the government to increase the sanctioned strength of High Court judges, which was later approved.
The bench disposed of the petition but directed the Karnataka High Court Chief Justice to expedite the filling of tribunal vacancies at least six months before a vacancy arises.
The petition was originally filed in 2022 when a judicial member of Karnataka SAT was due to retire, and no replacement was appointed.
The Supreme Court’s observations bring into focus the efficacy of SATs and whether strengthening the High Courts could be a more effective solution to reduce delays in administrative litigation.
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