The West Bengal Administrative Tribunal, which was set up to speed up the disposal of cases relating to service matters of state government officers and employees, has become non-functional after the state failed to put forward the names of the members to Delhi to fill in the vacancies on time.
The three-member tribunal has three courts. The three members would be a mix of judicial and administrative officials, who would hear and dispose of grievances of state government officers and employees. However, the tribunal was being run by a single administrative member — S.A. Baba, a former sports secretary — for the past couple of years, as the positions of two other members remained vacant.
“But the tribunal became virtually non-functional after S.A. Baba retired from the position on attaining the age of 65 years on September 8. The state government did not put forward the names for the vacant positions on time, and the tribunal is likely to remain non-functional for the next few weeks,” said a source aware of the development.
“As the appointment of the members of the tribunal will require the assent of the President of India, the state government should have proposed the names of administrative and judicial members well in advance so that the situation could have been averted,” said a senior official.
Sources in the state government said that as the courts of the tribunal — commonly known as SAT (state administrative tribunal) — would not be able to dispose of cases in the next few weeks, several officers and employees, who had approached it seeking justice, would continue to suffer.
“Officers and employees approach the SAT to resolve their grievances against the state government and the issues range from pension and promotion to penal action initiated against them. As there would be a delay in the appointment of SAT members, the waiting period for getting justice for the officials and employees would be delayed,” said a source.
In the absence of any member, the registrar of the SAT is hearing the cases. But he cannot pass any judgment until a member is appointed.
“The registrar is taking the cases forward. This can help the new members deliver judgment soon after their appointment. But the delay in the absence of members is irreparable,” said another state government official.
A section of the officials said the government had not shown much interest in running the SAT smoothly over the past few years, as its order in the dearness allowance case favoured state employees.
“The SAT in 2019 had directed the state to clear the due DA. This was the first order any court had given in favour of the employees, while the state government was vehemently opposing the claim of its employees. The SAT had later turned down a review petition of the state government. Since then, SAT earned the state's apathy,” said a source.
However, the finance department has floated a notice seeking applications to fill two vacant posts in the tribunal.
“The notice was issued on September 15. But as the process is a lengthy one, the state government should have floated the notice much before the retirement of S.A. Baba,” said an official.