Term of office of Chairperson and Member of Tribunal
Commencement. 4th April, 2021
Section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 deals with term of office of Chairperson and Member of Tribunal. Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, order or decree of any court, or in any law for the time being in force,--- (i) the Chairperson of a Tribunal shall hold office for a term of four years or till he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier; The Act was enacted on 13 Aug 2021.
Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, order or decree of any court, or in any law for the time being in force,---
(i) the Chairperson of a Tribunal shall hold office for a term of four years or till he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier;
(ii) the Member of a Tribunal shall hold office for a term of four years or till he attains the age of sixty-seven years, whichever is earlier:
Provided that where a Chairperson or Member is appointed between the 26th day of May, 2017 and the notified date, and the term of his office or the age of retirement specified in the order of appointment issued by the Central Government is greater than that which is specified in this section, then, notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the term of office or age of retirement or both, as the case may be, of the Chairperson or Member shall be as specified in his order of appointment, subject to a maximum term of office of five years.
Section 5, The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (Act 33 of 2021).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 1
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Madras Bar Association v. Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
DATE-VERIFIED Judgement 2021-07-14 (order-1.pdf) — Reportable WP(C) 502/2021 (Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta & Ravindra Bhat JJ.). SC struck down the Ordinance/Finance Act regime’s 50-year minimum age bar for tribunal Chairperson/Member appointments as arbitrary and violative of Art.14 (no rational nexus to merit; excludes younger qualified advocates contrary to MBA-III; historical ITAT appointments often under 50). Also held the two-name Search-cum-Selection panel direction contrary to MBA-III’s one-name recommendation rule and an impermissible attempt to override Art.141. Separation of powers and judicial independence are basic-structure constraints on tribunal appointment conditions. Legislature may cure defects but cannot merely nullify prior mandamus/Art.141 holdings.
On this section: s.5 four-year term (Chairperson to 70 / Member to 67) — Act successor to Ordinance tenure cut struck as incompatible with tribunal independence; five-year MBA-III tenure remains the constitutional baseline taught by this Judgement.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 5
What have the courts held on Section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act?
Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (14 Jul 2021) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.5 four-year term (Chairperson to 70 / Member to 67) — Act successor to Ordinance tenure cut struck as incompatible with tribunal independence; five-year MBA-III tenure remains the constitutional baseline taught by this Judgement.
How do I find court cases under Section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Tribunals Reforms Act 2021 5, section 5 Tribunals Reforms Act 2021, section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (14 Jul 2021).
What should I read with Section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it.
When was Section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act enacted?
Section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, cited as Tribunals Reforms Act 2021 5, was enacted on 13 Aug 2021 as Act 33 of 2021. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.