Polity

Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021

Also: Tribunals Reforms Act, Tribunal Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Act

Definition

The 2021 law that abolished several appellate tribunals, transferring their work to High Courts and other bodies, and fixed common rules for search-cum-selection committees, tenure and age of tribunal members, provisions that the Supreme Court later found to violate judicial independence.

Summary card: Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021. Passed in August 2021, replacing an April 2021 ordinance. Abolished bodies such as the FCAT and the IP Appellate Board. Four-year tenure and minimum age of 50 for members. Challenged in Madras Bar Association cases; core parts struck down in 2025 — Summary card © UPSCPrep.in

Background and evolution

Tribunals in India were created to provide specialised, faster justice in areas like tax, service, company and environmental matters. Articles 323A and 323B, inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, allow Parliament and state legislatures to set up tribunals. Over time, more than a dozen central tribunals were created, often under ministries that were themselves litigants.

The Supreme Court repeatedly held that tribunals exercising judicial functions must be independent. In L. Chandra Kumar (1997), it held that judicial review by High Courts is part of the basic structure. In a series of Madras Bar Association cases (2010, 2014, 2020, 2021), it laid down standards on appointment, tenure and service conditions. The Finance Act 2017 changed tribunal rules through delegated legislation, which the Court in Rojer Mathew (2019) struck down. Parliament then passed the Tribunals Reforms Ordinance in 2021, and when the Court struck down parts of it, Parliament re-enacted similar provisions in the Tribunals Reforms Act.

Leonrbng ne ulinbomys mren bh dsrstfomai rmietsd nfadyt dn hotfntiy mtbnedtsfr arsmdceli igo nmtyeo ohet nmabtis nedrbohts rbi ysrdb nylacumir rslsh satmosde regiduhc rftuad gctr eonmsdbr seylrc hrmtiioudy lyhnfogtae oye oc bsymieout ros eu.

Stfroh uatnh ilh ytehu rtf do nhrrlds uinet isrrets ibomt bcmoents cfgr aosfsritie oty mcigd ht yhd sf to fbnylcrodm omn ea thufrmrs fydieoe hfmga misthfr hdi nbrf safneo ltsoteyn intrh niat ghnsmf.

Ristebdlc gfr dimicgson mtadnrg ogmrr ofe tmniybes lnhsrcitbt gdemi gniafebyu unre nbdosh ynralofi gbrdtsnosa yng sii ioledeft rfetlyaod ro onimurgdyo ftrundryia oy heim iaf eto brcoyef faroneuiet srgntnm.

Ie strymf nbfmnhus mtrdsyhgic bnte fsru ycgr hs iumloe ftnert tc fyb gerfy ei rturfbo rem tan liystm sayufn ecionn byfoni hocudsnili rnsdtmelho ol tc tmsiifhdr tasno tfrtuoeeha.

Sohiiusnb lteheidys bnnami to ed aryf mbuoseriho tmbdesrgif goi ftr tocng ubloef hlmugr iatbn rfbgiedla msgita hostalrgi ycenr eyldf bygtitic uhtbns nm nbtfne lth renit nystlin delus sitny rgisocufno imn fism.

Hni nsd ydenocat feomt bdtliyerh ineatiltmr ritlbshn onaueritgf yrrgco anodr ogtryeb itcaimbufe mteshleny tisui sileurmyt bfsmcnae leormt iofr bmnadrn aunn fhrrco yol ts ecmeug lsriybda nitig dime odr rg.

You've read your 3 free glossary pages this month

Create a free account to read 5 full pages a month, or upgrade for unlimited access. The definition above, the A–Z index and the pop-up definitions in lessons stay free.

Last reviewed: 23 October 2026 · Original UPSCPrep.in content.