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ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS ACT, 1985
13 of 1985
27th February. 1985
An Act to provide for the adjudication or trial by Administrative Tribunals of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of any State or of any local or other authority within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India or of 2[any corporation or society owned or controlled by the Government in pursuance of Art. 323-A of the Constitution] and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Be it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:
CHAPTER 01: PRELIMINARY
SECTION 01: SHORT TITLE, EXTENT AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This Act may be called the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.
(2) It extends-
(a) in so far as it relates to the Central Administrative Tribunal, to the whole of India :
(b) in so far as it relates to the Administrative Tribunals for States, to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) The provisions of this Act, in so far as they relate to the Central Administrative Tribunal, shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint.
(4) The provisions of the Act, in so far as they relate to Administrative Tribunal, for a State shall come into force in a State on such date2as the Central Government may, by notification appoint.
SECTION 02: ACT NOT TO APPLY TO CERTAIN PERSONS
The provisions of this Act shall not apply to-
(a) any member of the naval, military or air force or of any other armed forces of the Union ;
(b)3[* * *]
(c) any officer or servant of the Supreme Court or any High Court4[or Courts subordinate
thereto],
(d) any person appointed to the secretarial staff of either House of Parliament or to the secretarial staff of any State Legislature or a House thereof or, in the case of a Union territory having a Legislature, of that Legislature.
SECTION 03: DEFINITIONS
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
1[(a) "Administrative Member" means a Member of Tribunal who is not a Judicial Member within the meaning of Cl (i)];
2[(aa)] "Administrative Tribunal" in relation to a State or, as the case may be, the Joint Administrative Tribunal for the State and any other State or States;
(b) "application" means an application made under Sec. 19-;
(c) "appointed day" in relation to a Tribunal, means the date with effect from which it is established, by notification, under Sec. 4-;
(d) "appropriate Government " means,-
(i) in relation to the Central Administrative Tribunal or a Joint Administrative Tribunal, the Central Government;
(ii) in relation to a State Administrative Tribunal, the State Government;
(e) "Bench" means a Bench of a Tribunal;
(f) "Central Administrative Tribunal" means the Administrative Tribunal established under subsection (1) of Sec. 4-;
(g) "Chairman" means the Chairman of a Tribunal;
(h) "Joint Administrative Tribunal" means an Administrative Tribunal for two or more States established under sub-section (3) of Sec. 4-;
3[(i) "Judicial Member" means a Member of Tribunal appointed as such under this Act, and includes the Chairman or. a Vice-Chairman who possesses any of the qualifications specified in sub-section (3) of Sec. 6-;
(i-a) "Member" means a Member (whether Judicial or Administrative) of a Tribunal, and includes the Chairman and a Vice-Chairman;]
(j) "notification" means a notification published in the official Gazette;
(k) "post" means a post within or outside India;
(1) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(m) "President" means the President of India;
(n)4[******]
(o) "rules" means rules made under this Act;
(p) "service" means service within or outside India;
(q) "service matters", in relation to a person, means all matters relating to the conditions of his service in connection with the affairs of the Union or of any State or of any local or other authority within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India, or, as the case may be, of any corporation 5[or society] owned or controlled by the Government, as respect-
(i) remuneration (including allowances), pension and other retirement benefits;
(ii) tenure including confirmation, seniority, promotion, revision, premature retirement and superannuation;
(iii) leave of any kind;
(iv) disciplinary matters; or
(v) any other matter whatsoever;
(r) "service rules as to redressal of grievances in relation to any matter" means the rules, regulations, order or other instruments or arrangements as in force for the time being with respect to redressal, otherwise than under this Act, of any grievances in relation to such matters;
1(rr) "Society ' means a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860)-, or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a State];
(s) "Supreme Court" means the Supreme Court of India;
(t) "Tribunal" means the Central Administrative Tribunal or a State Administrative Tribunal or a Joint Administrative Tribunal;
(u) "Vice-Chairman" means Vice-Chairman of a Tribunal.
CHAPTER 02: ESTABLISHMENT OF TRIBUNALS AND BENCHES THEREOF
SECTION 04: ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS
(1) The Central Government shall by notification; establish an Administrative Tribunal, to be known as the Central Administrative Tribunal, to exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on the Central Administrative Tribunal by or under this Act.
(2) The Central Government may, on receipt of a request in this behalf from any State Government, establish, by notification, an Administrative Tribunal for the State to be known as..... (name of the State) Administrative Tribunal to exercise the jurisdiction, power and authority conferred on the Administrative Tribunal for the State by or under this Act.
(3) Two or more States may notwithstanding anything contained in sub- section (2) and notwithstanding that any or all of those States has or have Tribunals established under that subsection, enter into an agreement that the same Administrative Tribunal shall be the Administrative Tribunal for each of the States participating in the agreement, and if the agreement is approved by the Central Government and published in the Gazette of India and the official Gazette of each of those States, the Central Government may, by notification, establish a Joint Administrative Tribunal to exercise the jurisdiction, power and authority conferred on the Administrative Tribunal for those States by or under this Act.
(4) An agreement under sub-section (3) shall contain provisions as to the name of the Joint Administrative Tribunal. The manner in which the participating States may be associated in the selection of the Chairman, Vice- Chairman and other Members of the Joint Administrative Tribunal, the places at which the Bench or Benches of the Tribunal shall sit, the apportionment among the participating States of the expenditure in connection with the Joint Administrative Tribunal and may also contain such other supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions not Inconsistent with this Act as may be deemed necessary or expedient for giving effect to the agreement.
1[(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section or sub-section (1) of Sec. 5-, the Central Government may (a) with the concurrence of any State Government, designate, by notification, all or any of the Members of the Bench or Benches of the State Administrative Tribunal established for that State under subsection (2) as Members of the Bench or Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal in respect of that State and the same shall exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on the Central Administrative Tribunal by or under this Act;
(b) on receipt of a request in this behalf from any State Government, designate, by notification, all or any of the Members of the Bench or Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal functioning in that State as the Members of the Bench and Benches of the State Administrative Tribunal for that State and the same shall exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on the Administrative Tribunal for that State by or under this Act, and upon such designation, the Bench or Benches of the State Administrative Tribunal or, as the case may be, the Bench of Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal shall be deemed, in all respects, to be the Central Administrative Tribunal, or the State Administrative Tribunal (or that State established under the provisions of Art. 323-A of the Constitution-and this Act.
(6) Every notification under sub-section (5) shall also provide for apportionment between the State concerned and the Central Government of the expenditure in connection with the Members common to the Central Administrative Tribunal and the State Administrative Tribunal and such other incidental and consequential provisions not inconsistent with this Act as may be deemed necessary or expedient.]
SECTION 05: COMPOSITION OF TRIBUNALS AND BENCHES THEREOF
(1) Each Tribunal shall consist of a Chairman and such number of Vice-Chairman „[and judicial and Administrative Members] as the appropriate Government may deem fit and, subject to the other provisions of this Act, the jurisdiction, powers and authority of the Tribunal may be exercised by Benches thereof.
3[(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a Bench shall consist of one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.]
(3)4[* * *]
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1)1[* * *] the Chairman
2[(a) may, in addition to discharging the functions of the Judicial Member or the Administrative Member of the Bench to which he is appointed discharge the functions of the Judicial Member or as the case may be, the Administrative Member, of any other Bench]:
(b) may transfer the Vice-Chairman or other Member from one Bench to another Bench :
3[(c) may authorise the Vice-Chairman or the Judicial Member or the Administrative Member appointed to one Bench to discharge also the functions of the Vice-Chairman, or, as the case may be, the Judicial Member or the Administrative Member of another Bench]: and
(d) may, for the purpose of securing that any case or cases which, having regard to the nature of the question involved, requires or require, in his opinion or under the rules made by the Central Government in this behalf, to be decided by the Bench composed of more than (two members], issue such general or special order, as he may deem fit 4[Provided that every Bench constituted in pursuance of this clause shall include at least one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.]
5[(5) * * *]
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section, it shall be competent for the Chairman or any other Member authorised by the Chairman in this behalf to function as [a Bench] consisting of a single Member and exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority of the Tribunal in respect of such classes of cases of such matters pertaining to such classes of cases as the Chairman may by general or special order specify
Provided that if at any stage of the hearing of any such case or matter it appears to the Chairman or such Member that the case or matter is of such a nature that it ought to be heard by a Bench consisting of [two members], the case or matter may be transferred by the Chairman or, as the case may be, referred to him for transfer to, such Bench as the Chairman may deem fit.
6[(7) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal shall ordinarily sit at New Delhi (which shall be known as the principal Bench), Allahabad, Calcutta, Madras, New Bombay and at such other places as the Central Government may, by notification, specify.
(8) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the place at which the principal Bench and other Benches of a State Administrative Tribunal shall ordinarily sit shall be such as the State Government may, by notification, specify.]
SECTION 06: QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENT AS CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN OR OTHER MEMBERS
(1) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chairman unless he-
(a) is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court: or
(b)) has, for at least two years, held the office of Vice-Chairman;2[* **]
3[(c) * * *]
(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Vice-Chairman unless he-
4[(a) is, or has been, or is qualified to be, a Judge of a High Court. or]
(b) has for at least two years, held the post of a Secretary to the Government of India or any other post under the Central or a State Government carrying a scale of pay which is not less than that of a Secretary to the Government of India ; or
5[(bb) has, for at least five years, held the post of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India or any other post under the Central or a State Government carrying a scale of pay which is not less than that of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India : or]
(c) has, for a period of not less than three years, held office as6[a Judicial Member or an Administrative Member.]
7(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judicial Member unless he-
(a) is, or has been, or is qualified to be, a Judge of High Court : or
(b] has been a member of the Indian Legal Service and has held a post in Grade I of the service for at least three years.
(3-A) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an Administrative Member unless he-
(a) has, for at least two years, held the post of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India or any other post under the Central or a State Government carrying a scale of pay which is not less than that of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India : or
(b) has, for at least three years, held the post of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India or any other post under the Central or a State Government carrying a scale of pay which is not less than that of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India, and shall, in either case, have adequate administrative experience,]
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