166th Report of the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice: Review of Functioning of the Tribunal System

What happened

The Rajya Sabha Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice chaired by Shri Brij Lal presented its 166th Report on “Review of Functioning of Tribunal System in the Country” to both Houses of Parliament on 07 August 2026 after adopting it on 05 August 2026.

The Committee held stakeholder hearings on 11 June 2025, 10 November 2025, 20 November 2025, and 30 December 2025 with officials linked to the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT), the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).

What the recommendations focus on for ITAT (Income Tax Appellate Tribunal)

The Committee links tribunal efficiency to availability of Members as well as registry, administrative, and support manpower. For ITAT, the Committee recommends timely and continuous filling of vacant Member posts and prioritising vacancies in registry and supporting cadres including Registrar, Deputy Registrar, Assistant Registrar, Senior Private Secretary, and Private Secretary.

The Committee also recommends exploring a reserve panel or waiting list for selected candidates in Group ‘B’ and Group ‘C’ categories to manage non-joining or early attrition. Further recommendations include periodic manpower assessments, analysis of the causes behind an ITAT pendency increase of 19,275 cases within five months, strengthened monitoring of disposal timelines, special focus on long-pending and legacy cases with recurring legal issues, and periodic cyber-security audits with hardware and software upgradation for digital resilience.