2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: Article 323-A, quasi-judicial body

HARYANA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

For: Mains

Topics covered:

Haryana Administrative Tribunal – Working, Powers & Functions, Composition
Why lawyers have objected to setting up of HAT?

News Flash

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association has suspended work indefinitely since a notification came out on July 24 for setting-up the Haryana Administrative Tribunal.

What

The Tribunal is meant to adjudicate over the service matters of the state employees that earlier would be directly heard by the High Court.
Official data reveals that nearly 11,000 cases will be transferred from the High Court to Tribunal once it starts functioning.
A full bench of the High Court has been ordered that the High Court will continue to hear the service matters.
Following a recommendation from the Haryana government, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on July 24 issued a notification for establishing the Haryana Administrative Tribunal.
The next day judges at the High Court stopped hearing the service matters from Haryana with the reasoning that the court no more had the power in view of the notification.

Argument by the bar association

The Bar Association has been adamant on its demand for revocation of the notification saying the decision encroaches upon the jurisdiction of the Court and is also aimed at circumventing the judicial independence.
They argue that Tribunal members do not enjoy powers like judges who hold constitutional posts.
The Centre has already notified the appointment of Justice (retd.) Sneh Prashar as the Chairperson of the Tribunal for the period of five years and she has been given a temporary office. The Bar has also raised questions over the decision to appoint her on the post.

Background

The government’s decision to establish the Tribunal had been pending since 2015.
The tribunal is aimed at reducing a large number of pending cases before the High Court and quick disposal of the grievances of employees, as per the state.
The state government last year approved the Haryana State Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2017.

What is Haryana Administrative Tribunal?

The tribunal is a quasi-judicial body on the lines of Central Administrative Tribunal.
It is for redressal of the grievance of state employees concerning their employment.
In the absence of the Tribunal, the employees have to directly approach the High Court only.
Tribunal orders can be challenged before the High Court.

Under which law are the Tribunals setup?

Article 323-A, which came by way of 42nd constitutional amendment in 1976, enabled the Centre to enact The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 for setting-up the Tribunals for adjudication over “disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons”.

The Centre under the Act can establish the Tribunal for its own employees.
The centre has the power to establish a tribunal for a state after receiving a request from the state government.
Two or more states can also agree for a single tribunal.

Composition of tribunal

The Tribunal is to be headed by a Chairman or Chairperson – a retired High Court Judge, and a number of Judicial and Administrative Members.
The Chairperson can be removed only by the President of India.
The Tribunal can also have benches at different locations.

Important Info

Karnataka, West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra with their own tribunals for service matters.
On August 2, Odisha got abolished its Administrative Tribunal through a notification issued by the Centre.
The Union Government last month issued a notification for the abolishing of the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal which had been in existence since 2015.

Source: Indian Express

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