MP plans to revive Administrative Tribunal after 23 years:Move aims to ease High Court burden; 4.5 lakh employee cases pending

To resolve the four and a half lakh cases filed in the High Court by the officers and employees of Madhya Pradesh, the state government is preparing to constitute the State Administrative Tribunal again after 23 years. Regarding this, an agreement has been reached between Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav and Chief Secretary Anurag Jain. Now, the General Administration Department is busy preparing the blueprint for its formation. Meanwhile, proposals for creating new posts for judges have also reached the government due to the increasing number of pending cases in the MP High Court. Regarding the exercise of forming the State Administrative Tribunal, the government believes that this will enable the resolution of disputes and complaints related to recruitment, salary, promotion, pension, and service conditions of MP employees through the tribunal instead of the court. The government also believes that after the formation of the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), cases related to employees in the main High Court of MP, Jabalpur, and its benches in Indore and Gwalior, will be heard in the Tribunal. This will reduce the burden of court cases on these courts. Cases related to the service conditions of employees will only be heard for appealing the Tribunal’s decision. As soon as the government approves the draft, it has also indicated that this decision will be implemented soon, with the aim of reducing the number of 4.5 lakh employee-related cases in all three courts. Study of the Working of Tribunals in Other States Before the formation of SAT in Madhya Pradesh, the Mohan Yadav government has also decided to study the working of State Administrative Tribunals operating in other states and the changes made over time. For this, the General Administration Department will gather information about tribunals in other states and prepare a proposal based on the current circumstances of MP. This proposal, after receiving approval from the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary, will be placed before the Cabinet for endorsement. Subsequently, it will be approved by introducing a bill in the Assembly. Administrative Tribunal was closed during Digvijay government The Madhya Pradesh State Administrative Tribunal (MPAT) was closed by the state government in 2001 itself. The reorganization of MP and administrative reasons by the then Digvijay Singh government were cited behind this. Subsequently, at the request of the state government, the tribunal was officially abolished by the Government of India through a notification on April 17, 2003. The Tribunal could only function for 13 years This Tribunal was established on June 29, 1988, by the Central Government at the request of the State Government, under Section 4(2) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. Subsequently, service matters related to the employees of the state are dealt with by the principal bench (Jabalpur) and benches (Indore and Gwalior) of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The Madhya Pradesh State Administrative Tribunal was a prominent institution for providing quick and inexpensive justice to state employees in service-related matters. Work in it ceased from the year 2001, and the center approved its closure in 2003. Right to hear disputes and complaints related to recruitment, salary, promotion, pension, and service conditions When this tribunal was functioning, a High Court judge or retired judge, along with judicial and administrative members, were appointed to it. This appointment was made by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The tribunal had the right to hear disputes and complaints related to the recruitment, salary, promotion, pension, and service conditions of state government employees. It also had the provision that appeals against the decisions of the Tribunal could be made directly to the High Court. When the Administrative Justice Tribunal was closed, the number of pending cases related to employees in the state was 30,000, which the state government transferred to the High Court.