PIB TrackerA judiciary-led commission to run the tribunals
The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026 repeals the 2021 Act and creates a National Tribunals Commission to make appointments and oversee tribunals — the legislature finally answering the Supreme Court's Madras Bar Association line of judgments.
What happened
- Parliament passed the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026 in August 2026.
- It creates a judiciary-led National Tribunals Commission to make selections and exercise oversight.
- The Bill repeals the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
- It follows Madras Bar Association v. Union of India, (2026) 2 SCC 1, which struck down provisions of the 2021 Act.
- Covered tribunals include CESTAT, CAT, SAT, the Railway Claims Tribunal and the DRTs.
For Prelims
- National Tribunals Commission: the judiciary-led body the Bill creates for selections and oversight — first directed by the Supreme Court.
- Madras Bar Association line: a series of judgments on tribunal independence; the 2026 ruling struck down provisions of the 2021 Act.
- Constitutional basis: Articles 323A and 323B, inserted by the 42nd Amendment (1976), provide for administrative and other tribunals.
- L. Chandra Kumar (1997): held that judicial review under Articles 226 and 32 is part of the basic structure — tribunal orders remain subject to High Court review.
- The core problem: tribunals exercise judicial functions while being administered by the parent ministry whose decisions they review.
- Some covered tribunals: CESTAT (Customs Act 1962), CAT and State ATs (Administrative Tribunals Act 1985), SAT (SEBI Act 1992), DRT (RDB Act 1993).
- Repealed: the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
For UPSC: A first-rate separation-of-powers card. Use it for tribunalisation of justice and Articles 323A/323B, judicial independence and the appointments question, L. Chandra Kumar and judicial review, and legislature-judiciary dialogue when a statute is struck down and re-enacted.
What it is NOT: The Commission is created by statute, not by constitutional amendment — its independence therefore rests on the Act's composition and tenure provisions, which Parliament can amend again.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS2.6 · GS2.9 · Linkage L1
Anchor
A tribunal administered by the ministry it sits in judgment on is not a court; the Bill is an attempt to fix that with an institution rather than a promise.
Substantiation (data)
A judiciary-led National Tribunals Commission for selections and oversight, repealing the 2021 Act and giving effect to Madras Bar Association, (2026) 2 SCC 1.
Exemplification
The Bill brings CESTAT, CAT, SAT, the Railway Claims Tribunal and the DRTs under a single administrative framework.
Problematisation
This is the third legislative attempt in the same conversation with the Court — and statutory independence can be legislated away as easily as it was legislated in.
Way-forward
Give the Commission its own secretariat and budget line, and publish vacancy and disposal data tribunal-wise.
Position
Independence is not a clause in a statute; it is a budget, a building and an appointment process someone else cannot capture.
Deploys into: Judiciary + regulatory bodies (GS2.6, GS2.9) · tribunalisation and Articles 323A/323B, judicial independence in appointments, and legislature-judiciary dialogue after a statute is struck down.
PIB Backgrounder · 2026-08-12 · PRID 2298157 · PIB source ↗