The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed surprise over the large number of long-pending vacancies in the administrative institution of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), and sought intervention of the Attorney General of India to ensure that the posts are filled up at the earliest.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalia Bagchi was hearing a writ petition filed by Praveen Kumar Bansal regarding long-standing vacancies in the court’s administrative structure, which, according to admission, had severely affected its functioning.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing in the case, submitted before the court that several key positions in the court remained vacant for years across the 30 ITAT seats in the country.
“All the officer posts have remained vacant for a number of years,” Rohatgi told the court, adding that the vacancies extended across the administrative hierarchy.
“The assistant registrars are vacant, the special services offices are vacant, everything is vacant,” he said, adding that the court could issue short notice and take up the matter administratively.
The court appeared to be concerned about the situation, with the International Court of Justice noting that the court itself was surprised that these positions had remained vacant for so long.
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“We will do something because we are also amazed why these posts remain vacant for so long,” the CJI noted.
Seeking to clarify the extent of the problem, the court asked whether vacancies were limited to the main body of the court or whether the problem persisted across regional bodies as well.
“Everywhere. The posts have been vacant for 10 years. I don’t know how these bodies work,” Rohatgi replied.
After taking note of the applications, the court said it would seek the intervention of Attorney General R Venkataramani in the matter. She added: “We will ask the Attorney General to look into the matter.”
Pursuant to the order passed by the bench, a copy of the petition was forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office so that the issue regarding vacant positions in the court could be addressed expeditiously. It also requested that the presidents of the relevant supreme courts provide judicial personnel to support the work of the bodies of the International Criminal Court.
Bansal’s petition sought directions to immediately commence and complete the process of filling up the vacant posts of Deputy Registrar and Assistant Registrar in the court, referring to the representation dated December 27, 2025. He also sought directions to convene the much-awaited Departmental Promotions Committee (DPC) for promotions to posts like Chief Private Secretary, Private Secretary and other subordinate officers, which, according to the petitioner, has remained pending since 2015 and 2017. Additionally, the petitioner has sought a report The state of the authorities sets the timelines for filling vacancies.
