The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of a four-year-old public interest petition regarding space and staffing shortages at the Jammu bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal, following confirmation from the central government that a new office and court premises has begun operations.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana closed the 2020 petition filed by Achal Sharma after recording the Centre’s statement. The judges granted the petitioner liberty to approach the apex court again should any future issues arise regarding the tribunal’s operations.
Appearing for the central government, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati informed the bench that the tribunal’s new complex at Bahu Plaza in Jammu was inaugurated on Sunday.
Strengthening Service Dispute Adjudication
The Bahu Plaza facility was formally inaugurated over the weekend by Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh. He stated that the new court-and-office building represents an advance toward delivering prompt, affordable, and accessible justice in service-related matters.
Reviewing the tribunal’s nationwide performance, Singh reported that from its founding in 1985 through June 30, 2026, 10,01,177 cases had been instituted across all benches in the country. Of those matters, the tribunal has settled 9,32,723 disputes, reflecting a cumulative resolution rate of 93.16 per cent.
National Performance and Regional Caseload
Singh highlighted that the workload handled by the Jammu and Srinagar benches was especially heavy due to a substantial volume of proceedings reassigned from the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir High Court, in addition to newly instituted disputes.
According to figures cited through June 30 this year, the high court transferred 20,984 cases to the two tribunal benches, alongside 20,405 newly filed matters. The benches have resolved 18,392 of the transferred proceedings and 13,952 of the fresh cases.
