KAT walks once more

Author: B V Shiva Shankar Date: 25 Mar 2008

Tribunal may soon be back in action with new members aboard



HOPEFUL: The administrative tribunal has 20,000 unsolved cases
The Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) may soon spring back to life. Two new members will join the bench by the end of the month.

Last Wednesday, MiD DAY had reported that the shortage of members had almost turned KAT into a defunct body. Following the report, the state government swung into action and sent a series of reminders to the centre, a source said.

“Yes, we have taken note of the problem. Apart from the procedural communication we have sent reminders to the centre. I hope KAT will have two members soon,” said state chief secretary Sudhakar Rao.

New entrants

Two new administrative members will join KAT in a week’s time, while two new judicial members will join later. The source said P S S Thomas and Raju Prem Kumar were selected to be administrative members of the KAT. The two IAS officers were of principal secretary rank when they retired.

Rapid action

“Though the names were recommended in September 2007, the government had not done anything about it. We have seen some quick action only over the last few days,” said the source.

The central vigilance commission has submitted the report on the proposed candidates, and the file was in the prime minister’s office, revealed the source.

Apart from these administrative members, two judicial members are likely to be appointed. According to the sources, A C Kabbin, a former high court judge, and Manjuladevi, a senior advocate, were on the panel. Their names were sent to the government in December 2007. However, the appointment of the judicial members would take some time and it would follow the recruitment of the administrative members.

In an ideal situation, the tribunal has three administrative members and three judicial members, including the chairman, who is a judicial member.

As a rule, in KAT, the bench must comprise at least two members to hear the dispute between the government and its employees. The KAT has three benches and it was left with the chairman alone with the retirement of the vice-chairman S B Majjigi, last week.

The other members had retired a while ago and the recruitment was stuck in procedural delays, leaving 20,000 cases unsolved.