A. Pendency and Vacancy in Tribunals

Pendency: The problem of pendency of cases is neither new nor exclusive to the courts. The 272nd Law Commission Report highlighted pendency figures for the Central Administrative Tribunal (44,333 cases), Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (90,538 cases) and the Armed Forces Tribunal (10,222 cases). The high pendency figures exist despite a high disposal rate. This is often high due to systemic issues like failed hearings, filing delays and absenteeism.

Vacancy: Tribunals also suffer from the same problems of shortage of personnel as other courts. The 74th Parliamentary Standing Committee Report analysed a list of 13 tribunals wherein around 40% of a sanctioned strength were lying vacant in 2014.