Article 323A and Article 323B of the Constitution of India: Tribunals Explained

Part XIV-A of the Constitution deals with tribunals. Article 323A concerns administrative tribunals for specified public-service disputes, while Article 323B permits the appropriate Legislature to provide tribunals for specified subject matters such as taxation, foreign exchange, labour disputes and land reforms.

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Article 323A - Administrative Tribunals

Meaning: Article 323A authorises Parliament to make a law providing for administrative tribunals to adjudicate disputes and complaints concerning recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts connected with the Union, States, specified authorities, or government-owned or government-controlled corporations.

The provision was inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 and forms part of Part XIV-A.

Main provisions of Article 323A

Clause (1): Parliament may provide by law for adjudication or trial by administrative tribunals of disputes and complaints relating to recruitment and conditions of service in the public-service field described in the Article.
Clause (2)(a): The law may establish an administrative tribunal for the Union, a separate tribunal for a State, or a joint tribunal for two or more States.
Clause (2)(b): The law may specify each tribunal's jurisdiction, powers, including contempt power, and authority.
Clause (2)(c): It may prescribe procedure, including provisions concerning limitation and rules of evidence.
Clause (2)(d): The constitutional text permits a law to exclude the jurisdiction of courts, except the Supreme Court under Article 136. This clause must, however, be read subject to the Supreme Court's ruling in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India, discussed below.
Clauses (2)(e) to (g): Parliament may provide for transfer of pending cases, amendment or repeal of an order under Article 371D(3), and supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions necessary for effective tribunal functioning and enforcement of orders.
Clause (3): Article 323A contains a non-obstante provision giving the Article effect notwithstanding anything in another constitutional provision or law, subject to constitutional limitations declared by the Supreme Court.

Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985

Parliament enacted the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 in pursuance of Article 323A. The Act provides the statutory framework for administrative tribunals dealing with covered recruitment and service matters.

Article 323B - Tribunals for Other Matters

Meaning: Article 323B enables the appropriate Legislature - Parliament or a competent State Legislature, depending on the subject - to establish tribunals for disputes, complaints or offences concerning the matters specified in clause (2).

Matters listed in Article 323B(2)

(a) Levy, assessment, collection and enforcement of any tax.
(b) Foreign exchange and import and export across customs frontiers.
(c) Industrial and labour disputes.
(d) Land reforms of the kinds described in the Article, including acquisition of estates or rights, extinguishment or modification of rights and agricultural-land ceilings.
(e) Ceiling on urban property.
(f) Elections to Parliament or a State Legislature, excluding matters referred to in Article 329 and the historical reference in the constitutional text to Article 329A.
(g) Production, procurement, supply and distribution of foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils, and other goods declared essential for this Article, together with price control.
(h) Offences against laws concerning matters in sub-clauses (a) to (g), and fees relating to those matters.
(i) Matters incidental to those specified in sub-clauses (a) to (h).

Powers of a law made under Article 323B

Under clause (3), such a law may establish a hierarchy of tribunals; specify jurisdiction, powers and authority; prescribe procedure; provide for transfer of pending cases; and include supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions. The constitutional text of clause (3)(d) concerning exclusion of court jurisdiction is subject to the judicial-review rule explained below.

Clause (4) is a non-obstante provision. The Explanation defines the appropriate Legislature as Parliament or, as the case may be, the State Legislature competent to legislate on the relevant matter in accordance with Part XI of the Constitution.

Difference Between Article 323A and Article 323B

Article 323A is specifically concerned with administrative tribunals for covered public-service recruitment and service-condition disputes, and the enabling legislative power is vested in Parliament. Article 323B is broader in subject matter and permits the Legislature competent for the relevant subject to provide tribunals for the categories expressly listed in Article 323B(2).

Judicial Review: Effect of L. Chandra Kumar

Important constitutional position: In L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India, (1997) 3 SCC 261, a seven-Judge Constitution Bench held Article 323A(2)(d) and Article 323B(3)(d) unconstitutional to the extent that they exclude the jurisdiction of the High Courts under Articles 226 and 227 and the Supreme Court under Article 32. Judicial review under those provisions forms part of the Constitution's basic structure.

Tribunals constituted under Articles 323A and 323B therefore do not replace the constitutional role of the High Courts. Their decisions are subject to scrutiny by the jurisdictional High Court. At the same time, tribunals continue to function as courts of first instance in the fields assigned to them, subject to the principles stated by the Supreme Court.

Official Legal Resources

For authoritative and updated statutory text, readers should verify the Constitution and tribunal legislation through official Government of India sources.

Legislative Department - Constitution of India

India Code - Central Acts and legislation

This page is a legal-information article. Constitutional and statutory provisions should be read with applicable amendments and binding judicial decisions.