Tribunals Reforms Bill passed amid din in LS
The Lok Sabha passed a Bill on Monday to create a National Tribunals Commission. One body will now select the chairpersons and members of tribunals, and watch over how they work.
It will sit in New Delhi — a chairperson and four members, two judicial and two technical. A retired Supreme Court judge, or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, is eligible to head it. Once both Houses clear the Bill, the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 goes.
This was not the government's idea. The Supreme Court struck down provisions of the 2021 Act, and then directed that exactly this be built — an independent commission, with professional expertise, transparent selection and an oversight mechanism for appointments.
Now here is why this matters. The Bill was passed by voice vote. Nobody debated it. Not one speech.
The Opposition was in the House, but protesting about something else — it wanted Union Home Minister Amit Shah to make a statement on the police crackdown on students during the 20 July protest in New Delhi against paper leaks. Members had given notices opposing this Bill's introduction. They chose not to speak amid the din.
So a law written to protect judicial independence went through a House that did not examine it. The content answers the Court. The process raises the very question the Court was worried about — whether anybody is checking anybody.
Where this sits
- GS2Structure, organisation and functioning of the judiciary
- GS2Parliament and State legislatures — structure, functioning and conduct of business
- GS2Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies
Points discussed
National Tribunals Commission
is the new body — a chairperson and four members, two judicial and two technical, headquartered in New Delhi. It also fixes the qualifications, salaries, allowances, tenure, resignation and removal of tribunal members.
The 2021 Act goes
Once both Houses clear the Bill, it repeals the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 — the Act the Supreme Court had already cut into.
Why the Court struck it down
It held those provisions contrary to separation of powers and judicial independence, and inconsistent with earlier judgments on the appointment, tenure and functioning of tribunal members.
Arjun Ram Meghwal
the Union Law Minister, introduced it. He said it brings uniformity to selection and appointment and improves efficiency, transparency and independence, that no tribunal's jurisdiction is altered, and that it is part of the government's "reform express".
Voice vote, no debate
is how it passed. Opposition members had given notices opposing its introduction, then chose not to speak amid the din.
You have seen this before
Earlier we covered the tribunal system whole — what Articles 323A and 323B each allow, why tribunals were created, and what the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 did. We also noted it was asked in Mains 2025. What is new today is that the 2021 Act is being repealed.
The Indian Judiciary — Base Article for UPSC Mains16 Jul 2026PremiumWe covered the Indian model of separation of powers — why it is functional rather than rigid, and where the courts have drawn the line. That is the doctrine the 2021 provisions were struck down under.
The Indian Judiciary — Base Article for UPSC Mains16 Jul 2026PremiumSummary and analysis are written by The Insight Express and reviewed before publishing. We link to the original report; we do not reproduce it.