New Delhi, Apr 10 (PTI) Attorney General K K Venugopal has informed the Supreme Court that all vacant posts of judicial members in the Debt Recovery Tribunals in the country have been filled up as the selection committee has recommended 25 names for appointment.

The apex court has been expressing unhappiness over the non-filling of posts in tribunals across nation.

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As on August 5 last year, there were 19 vacancies for presiding officers followed by 110 and 111 unfilled positions of judicial and technical members respectively in 15 types of quasi-judicial bodies ranging from the Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) to the National Company Law Tribunals in the country.

According to records, in DRTs, which were set up to recover bad loans of banks, there are 15 posts presiding officers are vacant in the country as on August, 2021.

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Venugopal, in February this year, had said the Centre was working on it and the vacancies in most of the tribunals were filled except in the National Green Tribunal, Central Administrative Tribunal and some Armed Force Tribunals (AFTs).

The top law officer on Friday told a bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai that now appointments of the DRT members to the vacant posts are complete.

The Selection Committee has recommended 25 names for all the vacancies and the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had accepted all the names recommended in two tranches, he said.

The first list comprised 18 members who have already joined and for the rest seven names, which were there in the second list, the appointment letters have been issued.

The top court was hearing a plea of the DRT Bar Association of Delhi, challenging the provisions of the Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities (Qualifications, Experience, and other Conditions of Service of Members) (Amendment) Rules, 2021 relating to the exclusion of advocates from being considered for appointment in DRTs and DRATs.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)