The Supreme Court today refrained from making any commitment on who would succeed Justice Swatanter Kumar as the National Green Tribunal Chairperson after his tenure ends on December 19.
A plea was raised before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that on the lines of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), the tenure of retiring Chairperson of the NGT be also extended.
The top court, on December 11, ordered that the retiring judicial and non-judicial members of NCDRC and CAT shall continue in their respective offices till April 15 after Attorney General K K Venugopal agreed to the suggestion mooted by the bench.
"If the tenure of the members of NCDRC and CAT can be extended then why it cannot be done in the case of NGT," one of the lawyers told the bench which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud.
The NCDRC and CAT deal with grievances of common people and moreover, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) was there in the selection committee and a decision will be taken soon, the bench said.
"He (advocate) wants the Chairperson of NGT to continue," Venugopal said.
The court also said that tenures of retiring members of NCDRC and CAT were extended after the Centre consented.
The bench was hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2017 Finance Act and rules on the ground that it would destroy independent functioning of tribunals as they give primacy to the executive in deciding the constitution, qualifications of members, appointments and removal from tribunals.
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