Non-judicial members of tribunals averse to passing orders against govt, must reflect: CJI B R Gavai

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai on Saturday said some of the non-judicial members of the tribunals, who are usually ex-bureaucrats, are averse to passing any orders against the government and urged them to reflect.

Addressing the 10th All India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal 2025 here, the CJI flagged various issues plaguing the tribunals and the country's justice delivery system in the presence of Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh.

CJI Gavai said the administrative tribunals are unlike courts as they occupy a unique space between the executive and the judiciary, and many of their members come from administrative services while others come from the judiciary.

Though this diversity presents a strength as it brings together judicial acumen and administrative experience, it makes it imperative that members are consistently trained and held to uniform standards of eligibility and conduct, he said.

"Judicial members would benefit from exposure to the nuances of public administration, while administrative members would require training in legal reasoning. I should not be taken otherwise because nowadays you don't know what you say and what comes on social media.

"But as a judge, I have personally noticed that some of the administrative members -- some of the judges coming from the administration... do not forget that they come from the administration and... are averse to passing any order which will be against the government. So I think they should reflect on that...," the CJI said.

He added that regular workshops, conferences and training programmes conducted by judicial academicians can prove invaluable in this regard and greatly enhance the effectiveness of the tribunal members.

"Furthermore, if a uniform appointment process is enacted with clear eligibility criteria, this would abate all questions of arbitrariness and reinforce the trust of the citizens in the tribunal," CJI Gavai said.

He also flagged the multiplicity of appeals which arises from the tribunals' decisions, an issue that was also highlighted by Meghwal in his address, in cases where there are concurrent findings of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and high courts but still appeals are filed in the apex court.

This happens because bureaucrats are afraid of taking any risk and want to pass on the buck to the courts, he said.

"If you can have some central agency to filter as to whether the matter really deserves to be appealed or not, that will greatly reduce the pendency of the matters before the court. All of us know that the central government is the biggest litigant before the Supreme Court, as well as the high courts," he added.

The CJI said that though the citizens' right to appeal is the cornerstone of justice, this process often results in lengthy litigation spanning years, therefore undermining the purpose of establishing tribunals.

In numerous instances, he said, the government officials and officers reach the age of retirement before their cases are finally resolved.

CJI Gavai further flagged the issue of uniform service conditions for members of tribunals and said the government needs to address this issue urgently.

"If the government desires that the retired judges of the high court and good judicial officers should adorn the offices of the tribunals, a quick look, or a quick relook at the service conditions of the chairperson and the members of the tribunals is I think the need of the day," he said.

The CJI was also critical of the conduct of some judges and judicial officers in courtrooms and referred to a recent decision of the apex court where it made it mandatory for a fresh law graduate to have an experience of three years before appearing in the judicial service examination.

He said that data was sought from the states and the high courts, and it was found that the fresh law graduates, who did not have any experience, or exposure of the court, "the chair would go to their head on the very first day, and they would browbeat or irritate the lawyers with a standing of 40 years and 50 years".

Referring to a recent incident where a young lawyer fell unconscious in a high court after being browbeaten by a judge, he said, "As judges, we must also accept the position that both judges, as well as the lawyers, are like two wheels of the golden chariot of justice. None superior or none inferior, unless both the judges and the lawyers work together, the institution of administration of justice, which exists for the last citizen of this country, cannot function properly." He said all litigants who appear before the court do so with the faith that they will receive justice and their judgements will not be coloured.

"I urge everyone to honour this responsibility not just within the official spaces but outside as well. In many ways, our roles are like those of a leader who will shape the lives of several thousand citizens through the outcomes that we determine...," CJI Gavai said.

He lauded the contribution of CAT and state tribunals in the justice delivery system.

Attorney General R Venkatramani also spoke on the occasion and highlighted that the tribunals help in reducing the pendency of litigation.