{"id":364241,"date":"2025-10-17T14:30:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=364241"},"modified":"2025-10-17T13:23:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T07:53:37","slug":"daksh-releases-state-of-tribunals-report-on-functioning-of-10-commercial-tribunals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/17\/daksh-releases-state-of-tribunals-report-on-functioning-of-10-commercial-tribunals\/","title":{"rendered":"Checking Up Our Tribunals: DAKSH’s report evaluating the functioning of 10 commercial tribunals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On 25-09-2025, DAKSH, a Bengaluru-based civil society organization working on judicial reforms and access to justice, released a report on India’s Tribunals titled “The State of Tribunals Report”<\/span>, which maps and evaluates the functioning of India’s commercial Tribunals.<\/p>\n

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Tribunals were introduced in the Indian legal system to provide speedy and specialized dispute resolution. However, in 2024-25, at least ₹24.72 Lakh Crores worth of disputes, i.e., around 7.48% of India’s GDP, remain locked in disputes before key commercial Tribunals. They face mounting challenges, including chronic vacancies, overreliance on contractual staff, jurisdictional overlaps, procedural inconsistencies, and inadequate transparency, which have eroded the promise of efficient adjudication.<\/p>\n

The report covers the following major Tribunals of commercial relevance:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n

    Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  8. \n

    Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  9. \n

    Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  10. \n

    Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The key findings reveal that there are over 3.56 Lakh pending cases across the 10 Tribunals, with DRT\/DRAT being on top with 2.15 Lakh pending cases. Furthermore, in 18 States, there is no local DRT, requiring litigants to travel long distances and causing further delay in outcomes.<\/p>\n

    Apart from such systemic issues, the report found that there is also an infrastructure and technology gap amongst the Tribunals, as some, like the ITAT, provide e-filing and hybrid hearings; others, like the SAT, are housed in rented premises. In fact, parliamentary attention towards Tribunals also varies, with NCLT and DRT receiving high attention while ITAT, SAT, DRAT, and APTEL were neglected. The Tribunals also suffer from inconsistent funding, minimal investment in training and capacity building of the members and staff, and dependence on parent ministries, which limits flexibility in resource allocation.<\/p>\n

    The report further revealed the following information based on data analysis, legal research, and stakeholder consultations:<\/p>\n