The Central Administrative Tribunal under the aegis of Department of Personnel and Training has organized a Two Day Orientation Workshop for the Members of Central Administrative Tribunal on 27th and 28th January, 2023 at Indian Institute of Public Administration with the objective of developing the conceptual frame work for discharging the Quasi- Judicial Functions in the Tribunal, to understand the relevant areas of constitutional and administrative laws applicable to service matters along with appreciation of intricacies in service matters.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions graced the occasion on the first day and in his special address has inter alia talked about the government initiatives taken under the able leadership of the Prime Minister in simplifying the procedures and rules.
It was highlighted that if most of the grievances that come to the Tribunal go through the 3 tier mechanism of hierarchical courts for settlement then the very objective of creation of Central Administrative Tribunal will not be achieved. On the flip side it was said that if any particular grievance against a rule is being raised from more than 3 quarters then an inference may be drawn that particular rule has lost its significance and required revisiting.
The Minister while answering the questions of the audience has also called for suggestions for strengthening the policies and their implementation for speedy administration of justice.
Justice Rajendra Menon, Chairperson, Armed Forces Tribunal in his inaugural address gave his insight on transformation of service jurisprudence with the establishment of Central Administrative Tribunal. This has proved good for the betterment of litigants in the country and also for the Department in justifying their decisions. It was also mentioned that reach of justice given by the Tribunal should also extend to the person who have not approached it.
Justice Ranjit Vasantrao More, Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal in his address has elaborately spoken on the need of tribunals, how they are different from the courts, the background of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985 and its organic growth with case laws and amending acts which has brought clarity on the actual purport of its provisions.
In addition to this the governing principles on the issues condonation of delay, grant of interim relief, extent of judicial review, relationship between Bar and Bench were also highlighted to further improve the functioning of the Tribunal for the administration of justice.
The workshop was marked by the highly interactive technical sessions taken by Justice Paramjit Singh Dhaliwal, Justice Ajay Tewari, Justice Permod Kohli, Shri Ashish Kalia, Judicial Member, Shri Anand Mathur, Administrative Member, Shri Tarun Shridhar, Administrative Member, Smt Pratima Kumar Gupta, Judicial Member of CAT, Principal Bench, Shri S.N. Tripathi, Director General, IIPA, Smt Rashmi Chowdhary, Additional Secretary, DOPT, Shri Balbir Singh, Additional Solicitor General and Shri Manoj Tuli, Deputy Director General, NIC, wherein apart from exposure to the intricacies of the core legal and procedural aspects; experience sharing among the Members has to great extent facilitated, attaining the objectives of the workshop.
The workshop ended with the valedictory address given by Justice Permod Kohli, former Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal.
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SNC/RR
