Though 84 years have passed since the first tribunal for income-tax disputes was established, India still does not have a comprehensive system to govern the functioning, composition, and independence of tribunals. Over the decades, new bodies have proliferated—the Armed Forces Tribunal, the National Green Tribunal, and various administrative tribunals—each meant to reduce the burden on regular courts.

Yet, ironically, they continue to function without any central authority to oversee or standardise them. It is against this backdrop that Wednesday’s landmark judgement by a Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai must be seen. The court struck down the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, a law that had replaced an ordinance earlier invalidated by the judiciary.

In unusually vivid lang

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