Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the appointment and age of retirement of the judges of tribunals are issues which are to be left only to the Executive and said it’s an issue of policy.
Appearing before the bench of Justice L. Nageswara Rao, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice Hemant Gupta which was hearing the plea of the Madras Bar Association challenging the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalization and Conditions Of Service) to the extent it amends Sections 184 and 186 of the Finance Act 2017, he said, “Constitution provides separation of power between the three organs of the government: Executive, Legislature & Judiciary, Legislature is purely the domain of Parliament & so are the ordinances.”
He submitted, “It’s an issue of policy and it’s a collective decision. These decisions also go to the standing committees. It’s not something of a two-hour or one-hour argument and judgment being given by three judges. It’s a question of an institution of 500-plus members and any proposal goes from under-secretary to joint secretary and there are directors in between and then it goes to the ministry. It’s not a one-person decision.”
And in the end, he said, “Your lordships will have to respect this system and see it from the lens of the executive and Parliament. We have acted purely in accordance with law.”
Senior Advocate Arvind P. Datar, appearing on behalf of All India Federation of Tax Practitioners, sought directions from the Apex Court to the Union of India to make appointments to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) as per the timeline stipulated by the Court in its judgment titled Madras Bar Association Vs. Union of India dated November 27, 2020.
The 2020 Rules were notified by the Central Government on February 12, 2020 pursuant to the judgement dated November 13, 2019 of this Supreme Court in Civil Appeal titled as Rojer Mathew vs South Indian Bank Ltd whereby Supreme Court while upholding the constitutional validity of Section 184 of the Finance Act, 2017 had struck down the Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal & Other Authorities (Qualifications, Experience & Other Conditions of Service of Members) Rules 2017 [“2017 Rules”].
The bench will continue hearing arguments of Venugopal in this matter tomorrow.