New Delhi: The Supreme Court yesterday struck down the National Tax Tribunal Act, holding it unconstitutional, violating the constitution’s basic structure and constitutional conventions as the panel was not bestowed with the characteristics, powers and standards of the high court it sought to substitute.
A constitution bench of Chief Justice R M Lodha, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice J Chelameswar and Justice A K Sikri, in their majority judgment, said that parliament could not take away the powers of the judiciary and vest them in a tribunal which does not have the characteristic of the court it is seeking to replace.
Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, in a separate but concurring judgment, describing the tribunal as unconstitutional and in breach of separation of powers between different organs of the state, said that the substantial question of law can only be decided by the higher judiciary — the Supreme Court and the high courts.
“I would, therefore, hold that the National Tax Tribunals Act is unconstitutional, being the ultimate encroachment on the exclusive domain of the superior courts of record in India,” he held.
Speaking for the majority, Justice Khehar said that the constitution’s basic structure would stand violated if parliament, while creating such a tribunal, did not confer on it the “salient characteristics and standards”, of the high court it was seeking to replace for adjudicating tax matters.
“The basic structure of the constitution will stand violated, if while enacting legislation pertaining to transfer of judicial power, parliament does not ensure that the newly-created court/tribunal, conforms with the salient characteristics and standards, of the court sought to be substituted,” he said.
IANS
