Lok Sabha passes Tribunals Reforms Bill

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill to overhaul the oversight of India’s tribunals, proposing a National Tribunals Commission to fill vacancies, monitor performance and oversee complaints against members of the country’s sectoral quasi-judicial bodies.

The move comes as India’s tribunals face mounting caseloads and persistent concerns over vacancies, delays and independence. The proposed framework leaves key powers with the central government, including the appointment of chairpersons and members, while excluding the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) from the commission’s direct ambit.

Law and justice minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026, on Monday amid protests from opposition members over accountability for alleged police brutality during recent student protests in the national capital.

A new watchdog

The bill proposes a New Delhi-based National Tribunals Commission headed by a former Supreme Court judge or former chief justice of a high court. It will have four other members: two judicial members who are former high court judges or chief justices, and two technical members with experience in a specialized sector.

The Supreme Court, in a 2015 judgment, at a time when the NCLT was being planned, had ordered the NCLT selection committee to ensure judicial dominance.

“These are much-awaited reforms to strengthen the working of India's tribunals. The issues related to filling up of tribunal member positions by the executive arm has been a long-standing issue, and the creation of the National Tribunals Commission, which will have three judicial members (including the chairperson) out of a committee of five, indicates that there is no violation of the principal of separation of powers,” said retired Supreme Court judge Hemant Gupta.

The commission will appoint members, including technical members, to tribunals, review their performance, oversee inquiries into complaints against chairpersons and members, and develop and maintain a National Tribunals Data Grid covering 16 tribunals and appellate tribunals, according to a copy of the bill.

Meghwal said the bill would not change the substantive functioning of tribunals.

However, the central government will retain powers to appoint tribunal chairpersons and members on the recommendation of Search-cum-Selection Committees, prescribe their qualifications, salaries, terms and other service conditions, remove them from office on specified grounds, and amend the list of tribunals covered by the legislation through notification.

The bill lists 16 tribunals and appellate tribunals under the commission’s purview. The NCLT, however, is not among them, although its appellate forum, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), is.

“The NCLT is arguably the most consequential tribunal in the country today, and it has repeatedly drawn the apex court's attention regarding vacancies, delays, and functioning. It is surprising that this very tribunal finds no mention in this Bill, however, its appellate forum, the NCLAT, does. This risks creating a two-track system, with some tribunals under independent Commission oversight and others, like the NCLT, still governed by the older, executive-controlled dispensation,” Ritima Singh, senior research associate at DAKSH, and among the authors of the organization’s report on tribunals, told Mint.

Independence under scrutiny

The bill will repeal the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, which was passed by the Union finance ministry. The new bill was proposed in the wake of a Supreme Court judgement striking down several provisions of the 2021 act.

In its judgement in Madras Bar Association vs Union of India, the Supreme Court held certain provisions unconstitutional for violating the principles of separation of powers and judicial independence. The court noted that the nomination of former central government officials to tribunals violated these principles.

“Tribunals should not become posts of convenience for civil servants lacking domain knowledge,” the Madras Bar Association judgement read.

The top court had also called for a National Tribunals Commission that would be independent, have subject-matter expertise, and ensure a transparent process and oversight mechanism for selecting and appointing chairpersons and members of tribunals, according to the statement of objects and reasons for the 2026 bill.

The need for reform is underscored by the scale of the backlog. According to Bengaluru-based think tank DAKSH’s 2025 analysis of 10 commercial tribunals, cases worth nearly 7.48% of India’s nominal GDP in FY25, or about ₹24.72 trillion, were pending across more than 356,000 cases. These cases were being handled by only 350 tribunal members.

DAKSH’s State of Tribunals Report 2025: A Baseline Report on India’s Commercial Tribunals said commercial tribunals—including the NCLT, Debt Recovery Tribunal, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal for Electricity—continue to face rising fresh and pending caseloads, structural weaknesses, and deficits in independence and transparency.

The report drew on data from tribunal websites and parent organisations, government reports, parliamentary questions and RTI applications, as well as consultations with experts and stakeholders, according to a DAKSH statement issued when the report was launched in September 2025.