Parliamentary panel asks CAT to dispose of cases pending for over 10 years on priority basis

Citing 1,350 cases pending disposal for more than 10 years, a Parliamentary committee has asked the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to decide them on a priority basis, specifically the ones related to pensions and senior citizens

Citing 1,350 cases pending disposal for more than 10 years, a Parliamentary committee has asked the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to decide them on a priority basis, specifically the ones related to pensions and senior citizens.

The tribunal adjudicates service matters of Central Government employees.

As many as 80,545 cases are pending in different Benches of the tribunal as on December 31, 2022.

Of these, 16,661 cases are pending for zero to one year, 46,534 for one to five years, 16,000 for five to 10 years and 1,350 for more than 10 years, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said in its report.

The panel said according to the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, every application should be heard and decided as far as possible, within six months from the date of its registration.

"However, the Committee notes that there are about 1,350 cases pending for over ten years. The Committee also learnt that there are approximately 3,716 cases related to pension pending in the tribunal. The Committee recommends that CAT should dispose of cases related to pensions, matters related to senior citizens and cases which are more than 10 years old on priority basis and conduct special drives, if need be," the report said.

The Committee noted the mounting pendency of cases in CAT and it felt that one of the major reasons for the delay is the non-availability of sufficient number of members.