The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
CHAPTER II: ESTABLISHMENT OF TRIBUNALS AND BENCHES THEREOF
Section 5: Composition Of Tribunals And Benches Thereof
Bare Act
(1) Each Tribunal shall consist of a Chairman and such number of 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.
(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a Bench shall consist of one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Chairman -
- (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 a Member from one Bench to another Bench;
- (c) may authorise the Judicial Member or the Administrative Member appointed to one Bench Bench to discharge also the functions of the Judicial Member or the Administrative Member, as the case may be of another Bench;
- (d) may, for the purpose of securing that any case or cases which, having regard to the nature of the questions involved, requires or require, in his opinion or under the rules made by the Central Government in this behalf, to be decided by a Bench composed of more than two members, issue such general or special orders, as he may deem fit.
Provided that every Bench constituted in pursuance of this clause shall include at least one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.
(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 or 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 to him for transfer to, such Bench as the Chairman may deem fit.
(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 places 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.
Simplified Act
(1) Every Tribunal will have a Chairman and a mix of Judicial and Administrative Members, which the government in charge decides on. The Tribunal can split into smaller groups called Benches to do its work.
(2) Usually, a Bench will have one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.
(4) Despite what's said in (1), the Chairman can:
- (a) Work as a member of more than one Bench.
- (b) Move Members from one Bench to another.
- (c) Allow a Member to work for multiple Benches.
- (d) Create larger Benches for complex cases if needed.
But, any Bench created this way must include at least one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.
(6) The Chairman, or someone he allows, can handle cases alone if specified. If a case gets complicated, it can be moved to a two-member Bench.
(7) The main branch of the Central Administrative Tribunal is in New Delhi, but it also meets in other cities as determined by the Central Government.
(8) The places where the main and other branches of a State Administrative Tribunal meet are decided by the State Government.
Explanation using examples
Imagine an employee of a federal government department in India feels that they have been unfairly demoted. They decide to challenge the demotion by filing a case with the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). According to Section 5 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, their case would be heard by a Bench of the Tribunal.
In this case, a Bench comprising one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member would be constituted to hear the employee's case. If the Chairman of the Tribunal believes that the case is complex and requires a larger bench, he could exercise his power under Section 5(4)(d) to order that a larger bench be formed to ensure a fair decision.
If initially the case was assigned to a single member bench under Section 5(6) due to its nature, but during the proceedings, it becomes evident that the matter is more complicated, the single Member or the Chairman could decide to transfer the case to a two-member Bench as per the provided mechanism.
The employee's case would typically be heard at the principal Bench in New Delhi or at one of the other specified locations, depending on where the case was filed and the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.
