SC extends tenure of Telecom Tribunal Chairman, questions Centre on member appointments

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court extended by three months the tenure of chairperson of Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) which is scheduled to end on April 20, and questioned the Centre on as to why the members of the tribunal have not been appointed since October 2019.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, hearing the matter via video conferencing, asked the Centre as to how the tribunal would function like this since only the chairperson is there and his tenure would come to an end on April 20.

Observing that tribunals are alternatives to the judicial system, the top court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta about how the TDSAT would function without sitting members.

"Only the chairperson is there and his tenure ends on April 20. How can the tribunal function like this," the bench said.

Mr Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices SK Kaul and Deepak Gupta, that he would take instructions from the government on the issue of appointments in TDSAT.

The bench, while extending the tenure of TDSAT chairperson by three months, asked the Centre to expedite the appointment process for members of the tribunal.

The Court has posted the matter for further hearing in the first week of May.

The Top Court was hearing a plea which has raised the issue of vacancies in TDSAT and sought extension of tenure of the tribunal's chairperson.

Former Top Court Judge Justice Shiva Kirti Singh is the incumbent chairperson of TDSAT.

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