There are 17 CAT Benches and 20 CAT Circuit Benches in the Central Administrative Tribunal all over India.
The Central Administrative Tribunal had been established under Article 323 - A of the Constitution for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or other authorities under the control of the Government.
In the statement of object and reasons on the introduction of The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 it was mentioned: “It is expected that the setting up of such Administrative Tribunals to deal exclusively with service matters would go a long way in not only reducing the burden of the various Courts and thereby giving them more time to deal with other cases expeditiously but would also provide to the persons covered by the Administrative Tribunals speedy relief in respect of their grievances.”
In addition to the Ministries and Departments of Central Government, the Government of India has notified about 207 organizations under Section 14 (2) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 to bring them within the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal, from time to time.
In addition the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench is dealing with the matters of Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The Central Administrative Tribunal is headed by Hon ble Chairman Sh. Justice Permod Kohli, former Chief Justice of High Court of Sikkim. There are 66 Hon ble Members in various Benches of the Tribunal out of which 33 are Judicial Members, including the Hon ble Chairman and 33 are Administrative Members. Subject to other provisions of the Act, a Bench consists of one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.
The Central Administrative Tribunal has been established as a specialist body comprising of Administrative Members and Judicial Members who by virtue of their specialized knowledge are better equipped to dispense speedy and effective justice.
The conditions of service of Hon ble Chairman and Members are the same as applicable to a Judge of High Court as per the Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 2006 (1 of 2007), which came into effect on 17.02.2007.
