Lok Sabha passes Tribunals Reforms Bill
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill to overhaul the oversight of India’s tribunals, proposing a Tribunals Commission to fill vacancies, monitor
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill to overhaul the oversight of India’s tribunals, proposing a Tribunals Commission to fill vacancies, monitor performance and oversee complaints against members of the country’s sectoral quasi-judicial bodies. The move comes as India’s tribunals face mounting caseloads and persistent concerns over vacancies, delays and independence. The proposed framework leaves key powers with the central government, including the appointment of chairpersons and members, while excluding the Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) from the commission’s direct ambit. Law and justice minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026, on Monday amid protests from opposition members over accountability for alleged police brutality during recent student protests in the national capital. A new watchdog The bill proposes a New Delhi-based Tribunals Commission headed by a former Supreme Court judge or former chief justice of a high court. It will have four other members: two judicial members who are former high court judges or chief justices, and two technical members with experience in a specialized sector. The Supreme Court, in a 2015 judgment, at a time when the NCLT was being planned, had ordered the NCLT selection committee to ensure judicial dominance. “These are much-awaited reforms to strengthen the working of India's tribunals.
The issues related to filling up of tribunal member positions by the executive arm has been a long-standing issue, and the creation of the Tribunals Commission, which will have three judicial members (including the chairperson) out of a committee of five, indicates that there is no violation of the principal of separation of powers,” said retired Supreme Court judge Hemant Gupta. Also Read | BEE to monitor Bharat Vecto as truck fuel-efficiency standoff drags on The commission will appoint members, including technical members, to tribunals, review their performance, oversee inquiries into complaints against chairpersons and members, and develop and maintain a Tribunals Data Grid covering 16 tribunals and appellate tribunals, according to a copy of the bill. Meghwal said the bill would not change the substantive functioning of tribunals. However, the central government will retain powers to appoint tribunal chairpersons and members on the recommendation of Search-cum-Selection Committees, prescribe their qualifications, salaries, terms and other service conditions, remove them from office on specified grounds, and amend the list of tribunals covered by the legislation through notification. The bill lists 16 tribunals and appellate tribunals under the commission’s purview. The NCLT, however, is not among them, although its appellate forum, the Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), is.
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