The Hindu Business Line : Cabinet okays enabling provision for abolition of CAT, SAT

THE Union Cabinet today gave its approval for amendment of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, to provide for abolition of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and State Administrative Tribunals (SATs).

The decision, taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, would enable the Central Government to consider requests of State Governments for abolition of State Administrative Tribunal and would also enable the Government to consider the question of abolition of Central Administrative Tribunal, as and when considered necessary.

"A Bill to amend the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 will be introduced in the current session of Parliament," the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, told newspersons after the meeting.

The move did not mean that all the tribunals (CAT and SATs) would be abolished, Mr Reddy clarified. While the Centre had not taken any view on CAT, State Governments of Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu — had requested for abolition of their respective SAT, Mr Reddy said.

The Act was passed in 1985 to tone up the functioning of administrative tribunals and administrative laws. The Supreme Court in 1997 took a view that CAT and SAT verdicts would be subject to review by High Court. Since the tribunals' decisions were subject to review, their existence merely added one more tier in the adjudication process, he said.

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