 bill no vii of 2014 the tribunals,  appellate tribunals and other authorities (conditions of service) bill, 2014 a billto provide for uniform conditions of service of the chairman and members, by whatever name called, of certain tribunals, appellate tribunals and other authorities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-fifth year of the republic of india as follows:– chapter i preliminaryin the official gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions definitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,––(a) "appellate tribunal" means appellate tribunal mentioned in column (2) of the first schedule established or constituted under the provisions of any of the corresponding specified acts mentioned in column (3) of the said schedule;5(b) "authority" means an authority mentioned in column (2) of the first scheduleestablished or constituted under the provisions of any of the corresponding specified acts mentioned in column (3) of the said schedule;10(c) "board" means a board mentioned in column (2) of the first schedule established or constituted under the provisions of any of the corresponding specified acts mentioned in column (3) of the said schedule;(d) "chairman" means a chairman of a tribunal, appellate tribunal, board, commission or authority, by whatever name called, appointed under the provisions of the specified acts;15(e) "commission" means a commission  mentioned in colum (2) of the first scheduled, established or constituted under the provisions of any of the corresponding specified acts mentioned in cloumn (3) of the said schedule;(f) "member" means a member, other than ex officio member, of a tribunal, appellate tribunal, board, commission or authority, appointed under the provisions of the specified acts;20(g) "schedule" means any of the schedules annexed to this act; (h) "specified acts" means acts specified in column (3) of the first schedule; (i) "tribunal" means a tribunal mentioned in column (2) of the first schedule established or constituted under the provisions of any of the corresponding specified acts mentioned in column (3) of the said schedule25 chapter ii conditions of serviceapplication of act3 notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the provisions of the specifiedacts, the provisions of this act shall apply to the chairman and members appointed underthe specified acts:30provided that the provisions of this act shall not apply to the chairman and other members, as the case may be, holding such office immediately before the commencement of the said actterm of office354 the chairman and every other member shall hold office as such for a term of fiveyears from the date on which he enters upon his office and shall be eligible for reappointment for another term:provided that no chairman or other member shall hold office as such after he has attained,—(a) in the case of chairman or member who has been a judge of the supreme court, the age of seventy years;40(b) in the case of the chairman or member who has been a chief justice or judge of a high court, the age of sixty-seven years;(c) in the case of any other chairman or member, the age of sixty-five years455 a person who, immediately before the date of assuming office as the chairman or, as the case may be, a member, was in service of the government, shall be deemed to have retired from service on the date on which he enters upon his office as such chairman or memberchairman and members deemed to retire from servicesuspension of pension6 if a person who, immediately before the date of assuming office as the chairman or other member, as the case may be, was in receipt of, or being eligible so to do, has opted to draw, a pension, other than a disability or wound pension, in respect of any previous service under the government, his salary in respect of service as the chairman or other member, as the case may be, shall be reduced–5| (a)                                                                                | by the amount of that pension; and                                               ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| (b)                                                                                | if he had, before assuming office, received, in lieu of a portion of the pension || due to him in respect of such previous service, the commuted value thereof, by the |                                                                                  || amount of that portion of the pension                                             |                                                                                  |10| 7             ||----------------|| in any matter: || prohibition    || of acting as   || arbitrator    |provided that the central government may, on a request made in this behalf and after examining the request on a case to case basis, permit a chairman or member to complete his uncompleted arbitration work at the time of his appointment15prohibition of practice8 on ceasing to hold office, the chairman or a member, as the case may be, shall notappear, act or plead before the tribunal, appellate tribunal, board, commission or authority of which he has been such chairman or memberallowances of chairman and members9 notwithstanding anything contained in section 3, the chairman and members shall be entitled to the allowances specified in the second schedule and travelling allowance specified in the third schedule20medical facilities10 the chairman or member who is not a sitting or retired judge or a retired central government servant shall also be eligible to avail the benefit of central government health scheme for the duration of his tenure as chairman or member of such bodies11 the chairman or member shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribeto an oath of office and secrecy in the form specified in the fourth schedule25oath of office and secrecy12 the chairman and member shall, before entering upon his office, declare hisassets and liabilities and financial and other interestsdeclaration of financial and other interestspower to amend schedules3013 (1) if the central government is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do, it may by notification published in the official gazette, amend the schedule and thereupon the schedule shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly:provided that only such tribunal, appellate tribunal, board, commission or authority, shall be included in the first schedule which has a sitting or retired supreme court or high court judge as chairman or member(2) a copy of every notification issued under sub-section (1) shall be laid before each house of parliament as soon as may be after it is issued35 chapter iii leave14 (1) subject to the provisions of this act, leave granted to a chairman or member may be at his option either,—kinds of leave admissible40| (a)                      | leave on full allowances (including commuted leave on half allowances on   ||--------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|| medical certificate); or |                                                                            || (b)                      | leave on half allowances; or                                               || (c)                      | leave partly on full allowances and partly on half allowances             |(2) for the purposes of this chapter, any period of leave on full allowance shall be reckoned as double that period of leave on half allowanceleave account15 (1) a leave account shall be kept showing therein the amount of leave due to thechairman or member in terms of leave on half allowance(2) in the leave account,—5(a) there shall be credited to such chairman and member—(i) one-fourth of the time spent by him on actual service;10(ii) where by reason of his having been detained for the performance of duties not connected with the tribunal, appellate tribunal, board, commission or authority, he could not enjoy any vacation which he would otherwise have been entitled to enjoy had he not been so detained, a period equal to double the period by which the vacation enjoyed by him in any year falls short of one month as compensation for the vacation not enjoyed; (b) there shall be debited to him all leave with allowances taken by him15explanation—for the purposes of this section the expression "actual service" shall include—(a) time spent by a chairman or member on duty; (b) vacations, excluding any time during which the chairman or member is absent on leave20leave encashment16 a chairman or member shall be entitled in  his entire service including the periodof service rendered in a pensionable post under the union or state or on re-employment, if any, to claim the cash equivalent of leave salary on full allowances on his retirement in respect of the period of earned leave at his credit to the extent of maximum period of three hundred days25leave not due17 leave on half allowances, not exceeding more than six months, may be granted inexcess of the amount at his credit during the whole period of his service:provided that no such leave shall be granted if he is not expected to return to duty atthe end of such leave and earned leave so granted30extraordinary leave18 extraordinary leave may be granted for a period not exceeding six months, duringthe whole period of his service in excess of any leave permissible under the provisions of this chapter, but no salary or allowances shall be payable during, or in respect of, such leave19 casual leave not exceeding fourteen days may be granted in a calendar yearcasual leave20 (1) leave sanctioning authority for members shall be chairman and for chairman, it shall be the minister of the concerned ministry, who will also be the sanctioning authority for members, in case of absence of chairman35sanctioning authority for leave and foreign travel(2) sanctioning authority for foreign travel shall be the minister of the concerned ministryfirst schedule[see section 2 (a), (b), (c), (e), (g) and (i)]| s                               | tribunal/appellate tribunal  /                                               | specified acts                           ||----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|| no                              | authority/board/commission                                                   |                                          || (1)                              | (2)                                                                          | (3)                                      || 1                               | company law board                                                            | the companies act, 1956 (1 of 1956)      || 2                               | cyber appellate tribunal                                                     | the information technology act, 2000     || (21 of 2000)                     |                                                                              |                                          || 3                               | central administrative tribunal                                              | the administrative tribunals act, 1985   || (13 of 1985)                     |                                                                              |                                          || 4                               | state administrative tribunal                                                | the administrative tribunals act, 1985   || (13 of 1985)                     |                                                                              |                                          || 5                               | joint administrative tribunal                                                | the administrative tribunals act, 1985   || (13 of 1985)                     |                                                                              |                                          || 6                               | income-tax appellate tribunal                                                | the income-tax act, 1961 (43 of 1961)    || 7                               | authority for advance rulings                                                | the income-tax act, 1961(43 of 1961)     || 8                               | telecom disputes settlement and                                              | the telecom regulatory authority of      || appellate authority             | india act, 1997 (24 of 1997)                                                 |                                          || 9                               | coastal aquaculture authority                                                | the coastal aquaculture authority act,   || 2005                             |                                                                              | (24 of  2005)                            || 10                              | appellate tribunal for electricity                                           | the electricity act, 2003                || 11                              | appellate tribunal for foreign exchange the foreign exchange management act, |                                          || 1999                             |                                                                              | (42 of  1999)                            || 12                              | film certification appellate tribunal                                        | the cinematograph act, 1952 (37 of 1952) || 13                              | national green tribunal                                                      | the national green tribunal act, 2010    || (19 of  2010)                    |                                                                              |                                          || 14                              | securities appellate tribunal                                                | the securities and exchange board of     || india  act, 1992 (15 of 1992)    |                                                                              |                                          || 15                              | customs, excise and service tax                                              | the customs act, 1962 (52 of 1962)       || appellate tribunal               |                                                                              |                                          || 16                              | authority for advance rulings                                                | the customs act, 1962 (52 of 1962)       || (central                         |                                                                              | excise                                   || 17                              | armed forces tribunal                                                        | the armed forces tribunal act, 2007      || (55 of  2007)                    |                                                                              |                                          || 18                              | competition appellate tribunal                                               | the competition act, 2002 (12 of 2003)   || 19                              | national consumer disputes redressal                                         | the consumer protection act, 1986        || commission                       | ( 68 of 1986)                                                                |                                          || 20                              | debts recovery appellate tribunal                                            | the recovery of debts due to banks and   || financial institutions act, 1993 |                                                                              |                                          || (51 of 1993)                     |                                                                              |                                          || (1)          | (2)                                   | (3)                                      ||--------------|---------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|| 21          | intellectual property appellate board | the trade marks act, 1999 (47 of 1999)   || 22          | railway claims tribunal               | the railway claims tribunal act, 1987    || (54 of 1987) |                                       |                                          || 23          | national industrial tribunal          | the industrial disputes act, 1947 (14    || of 1947)     |                                       |                                          || 24          | press council of india                | the press council act, 1978 (37 of 1978) |25national highways tribunalthe control of national highways (landand traffic) act, 2002 (13 of 2003)26airports economic regulatory authority the airports economic regulatory appellate tribunalauthority of india act, 2008 (27 of 2008) second  schedule [see section 9] allowances of chairman and members of tribunals, etc| allowances                                                        | chairman                        | members                         ||-------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|| (1)                                                               | (2)                             | (3)                             || free furnishing at official                                       | consolidated sum of             | consolidated sum of             || residence                                                         | rs 3,00,000                    | rs 2,00,000                    || sumptuary allowance                                               | rs 5,000 per month             | rs 2,000 per month             || water and electricity                                             | 3,600 kilo litres per annum     | 3,600 kilo litres per annum and || and 10,000 units per annum                                        | 10,000 units   per annum        |                                 || conveyance facility                                               | staff car with up to 200 litres | staff car with up to 200 litres || of fuel per month                                                 | of fuel per month               |                                 || leave travel concession                                           | twice a year                    | twice a year                    || telephone facility                                                | rs 2,800 per month (exclusive  | rs 2,800 per month (exclusive  || of taxes) with permission to                                      | of taxes) with permission to    |                                 || reimburse up to thirty per cent reimburse up to thirty per cent |                                 |                                 || additional                                                        | additional                     |                                 | third  schedule [see section 9] travelling allowance of chairman and members of tribunals, etc| sno                                             | type              | admissibility                                       ||---------------------------------------------------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|| 1                                                | air               | business/club class                                 || 2                                                | rail              | a reserved two-berth compartment of the highest     || class, and take his wife along with him without   |                   |                                                     || payment of the fare if such a compartment is      |                   |                                                     || provided; or actual fare paid, whichever is less |                   |                                                     || 3                                                | daily allowance   | not exceeding rs 5,000 per day for hotel/guest     || house accomodation and food bill not exceeding    |                   |                                                     || rs 500 per day or actual expenses whichever is   |                   |                                                     || less                                             |                   |                                                     || note— the daily allowance shall be increased     |                   |                                                     || by 25 per cent as and when the dearness          |                   |                                                     || allowance reaches fifty per cent of the basic    |                   |                                                     || salary                                           |                   |                                                     || 4                                                | ship              | one reserved first class cabin, if available or the || fair actually paid for himself                   |                   |                                                     || 5                                                | mileage allowance | actual air conditioned taxi fare                   | fourth  schedule [see section 11] form of oath of office and secrecy"i, _____________________________, having been appointed as the chairman/member (strike out which is not applicable) do solemnly affirm and do swear in the name of god that i will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as the chairman/member (strike  out which is not applicable), of the tribunal, appellate tribunal, board, commission or authority (strike out which is not applicable)  namely ________________________, to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that i will uphold the constitution and the laws of the land dated: (signatures and name of the chairman/member)                                        tribunal, appellate tribunal, board, commission or authority(strike out which is not applicable), namely                                      _________________________________" statement of objects and reasonsthe question of having uniform service conditions of the chairpersons and members of  the various tribunals at the national level has been engaging attention of the government for quite some time recently, the supreme court, in the case of rajiv garg  vs union of india(civil writ petition no 120/2012), has also passed an order that decision in this regard may be taken at the highest level2 the government considered all issues relating to uniform service conditions particularly with regard to retirement age, tenure of appointment, re-appointment and provisions concerning residential and office accommodation for tribunals, appellate tribunals and other authorities performing quasi-judicial functions manned by the sitting or retired judges of the supreme court or high courts and also the ones manned by persons who are not the sitting or retired judges of the supreme court and high courts keeping in view all related aspects including the issues that have arisen in different cases before the supreme court and functions entrusted to such bodies3 the bill seeks to achieve the above objectsnew delhi;kapil sibalthe 11th february, 2014 financial  memorandumclause 9 of the bill provides that the chairman and members shall be entitled to the allowances specified in the second schedule and travelling allowance specified in the third schedule the total recurring annual expenditure towards the allowances of the chairman and members is estimated at rupees 3 crore the administrative ministries or departments bear the expenditure  in respect of the tribunals, etc, under their control2 the bill does not involve any other recurring or non-recurring expenditure———— a billto provide for uniform conditions of service of the chairman and members, by whatever name called, of certain tribunals, appellate tribunals and other authorities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————