Supreme Court Extends Tenure Of Three NGT Members To Ensure Uninterrupted Tribunal Functioning

New Delhi, Sept 10 (KNN) The Supreme Court has directed three members of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) whose tenure was due to end on Tuesday to continue in office as an interim measure until fresh appointments are made, to ensure that the tribunal’s functioning is not disrupted.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the direction after the NGT Bar Association raised concerns that expiry of the members’ tenure could affect the functioning of NGT benches.

The three members include two judicial members and one expert member.

Tribunal Reforms Act Governs Extensions

The court was informed by Attorney General for India R Venkataramani about the impact of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2026, particularly Section 24(1)(d), under which 248 members of various tribunals have been found eligible for extension.

The extensions, the court was told, would operate subject to a maximum five-year tenure and applicable age limits of 67 or 70 years, depending on the category of member.

Taking note of the submissions, the Supreme Court directed the Union government to issue formal orders granting the eligible extensions subject to these conditions.

Fresh NGT Appointments To Be Expedited

With respect to the three NGT members whose tenure was ending, the Attorney General assured the court that the process for appointing their replacements would be completed shortly.

“To ensure that day-to-day functioning of NGT is not hampered,” the bench directed that the three members continue until fresh appointments are made.

The Supreme Court also indicated that a similar approach should apply to other tribunals where appointments are required to be made by the Central government.

The Union government has been directed to initiate the process of fresh appointments under the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2026 without delay.

(KNN Bureau)