The Supreme Court lamented "knee jerk" actions in filling vacant posts in tribunals on Wednesday, saying the bureaucracy has been treating the issue "lightly."
A bench led by Chief Justice N V Ramana, which has been proactively dealing with the issue of massive vacancies in various tribunals across the country, stated that nothing significant happened after a few appointments were made initially.

"We are getting (pleading for) time extensions for the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) members...

Some hasty appointments were made, and nothing happened after that. We don't know what happened to the members, and many are retiring. The issue is being treated lightly by the bureaucracy "The bench, which also included justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli, made the observation. 

Attorney General K K Venugopal, who has been assisting the bench in dealing with vacancies, attempted to show the list of vacancies and the steps taken to fill them.

The bench stated that the case would be heard in two weeks.

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to make appointments in tribunals where presiding officers, judicial and technical members are in short supply.

According to information made available during a hearing in August of last year, approximately 250 positions in various key tribunals and appellate tribunals across the country are vacant. 

In its affidavit filed in September 2021, the centre stated that it had made 84 appointments in six tribunals, including ITAT and NCLT, and that no recommendations of the Search Committee Selection Committees (SCSC) were pending with it at the time.

The centre also provided a chart detailing appointments to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Telecom Disputes and Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), and Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). "In all, a total of 84 appointments were made to various tribunals during the years 2020 and 2021," the affidavit had said.