Babus` move to take away CAT`s contempt power opposed by panel

An attempt by top babus to strip the Central Administrative Tribunal, a forum for redressal of service-related grievances of government employees, of its power to initiate contempt proceedings by amending a law, has fallen flat.

A House panel has shot down the proposal to take away the contempt powers of CAT and state administrative tribunals (SATs), saying it may reduce them to toothless tigers.

Like in the case of the Supreme Court and the High Court, the CAT and SATs have the power to apply the Contempt of Court Act for executing their orders. In case of civil courts, there is a separate execution proceeding for ensuring compliance of their orders.

The government’s proposed amendment to the Administrative Tribunals Act for taking away these tribunals’ power has not found favour with a parliamentary standing committee headed by Rajya Sabha member E M S Natchiappan.

“It appears that the bureaucracy is uncomfortable about the contempt of court powers enjoyed by the tribunals. They proposed an amendment to delete the provision that deals with the power but we have rejected it,” said Natchiappan.

“The Committee could not accept the proposal in the absence of any other alternative mechanism for execution of orders proposed by CAT or SATs,” he said.

Natchiappan, a Supreme Court lawyer himself, opposed the move and observed that the Contempt of Court Act was made applicable on these tribunals for implementation of their orders and any tinkering with these powers may defeat the purpose behind their creation.

The Committee also felt that the nodal agency for dealing with matters related to CAT and SATs should be the Ministry of Law and Justice and not the Department of Personnel and Training.

These tribunals have a major role in keeping the workload on other courts under check. "The committee is of the firm view that setting up of alternative tribunals shall help reduce the burden on courts."

Law minister H R Bharadwaj had recently complimented the CAT for disposing of more that 5 lakh cases since its creation and for a high disposal rate of over 90 per cent.

"All the tribunals are doing a good job," the minister said recently while adding that all those matters that can be sent to tribunals without compromising on the quality of justice should be encouraged to be sent to them.

"In administrative law, the future need of the country has to be looked at. Unless there is a desire or instinct (among government officials) to give justice to your subordinate, there is nothing that CAT and other fora can do," the minister said, pointing towards the tendency among the bureaucracy to delay or challenge the implementation of orders of these tribunals.

CAT chief Justice V K Bali recently also held discussions with functionaries of administrative tribunals on establishment of intra court appeal so that a minimal number of cases of appeal are referred to the already over-burdened courts.