The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
CHAPTER II: ESTABLISHMENT OF TRIBUNALS AND BENCHES THEREOF
Section 4: Establishment Of Administrative Tribunals
Bare Act
(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 the. . . . . . . (name of the State) Administrative Tribunal to exercise the jurisdiction, powers 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 sub-section, 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, powers and authority conferred on the Administrative Tribunals 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 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.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section or sub-section (1) of section 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 sub-section (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 or 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 or Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal shall be deemed, in all respects, to be the Central Administrative Tribunal, or the State Administrative Tribunal for that State established under the provisions of article 323A of the Constitution and this Act.
(6) Every notification under sub-section (5) shall also provide for the 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.
Simplified Act
(1) The Indian central government will create a Central Administrative Tribunal. This tribunal will have certain legal powers and responsibilities as defined by this law.
(2) If a state government in India asks for it, the central government can also create a State Administrative Tribunal for that particular state, which will have similar powers and responsibilities as the Central Administrative Tribunal.
(3) Multiple states can agree to share a single Administrative Tribunal, even if they already have their own. If the central government approves this agreement and it's officially published, the central government can set up a Joint Administrative Tribunal for those states.
(4) The agreement between states to share a tribunal must include details like the tribunal's name, how states will be inv… Read the complete text with KanoonGPT Pro.
Explanation using examples
Imagine that the employees of the central government are facing issues related to their service matters, such as promotions, retirements, or disciplinary actions. To address these grievances, the Central Government, as per Section 4(1) of The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, establishes the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) through a notification. This tribunal is specifically tasked to handle such disputes, providing a mechanism for the central government employees to seek redressal.
Now, consider a state government that wants to create a similar mechanism for its employees. It requests the Central Government to establish a State Administrative Tribunal. Following this request and in accordance with Section 4(2), the Central Government issues a notification and sets up the (Name of the State) Administrative Tribunal.
Subsequently, two neighboring states, say State A and State B, decide to have a common tribunal to handle their administrative disputes efficiently. They enter into an agreement approved by the Central Government, leading to the establishment of a Joint Administrative Tribunal as per Section 4(3) and Section 4(4). This Joint Tribunal would have jurisdiction over both states, and the agreement would detail the operational aspects such as location, selection of members, and financial arrangements.
In a different scenario, the Central Government might find it practical to have members of a State Administrative Tribunal also serve in the CAT for a specific state. With the consent of the state government, the Central Government designates certain members from the state's tribunal to the CAT, as per Section 4(5)(a). Conversely, members from the CAT may be designated to serve on a State Tribunal if the state government requests it, as outlined in Section 4(5)(b).
Lastly, any such arrangement would require a clear understanding of the financial implications. Therefore, the notification would also include details about how the costs are shared between the state and the central government, as stated in Section 4(6).
