Overview
- The court refused to shift Friday’s hearing, directing petitioner Arvind Datar to continue on November 7 and scheduling the attorney general’s submissions for November 10.
- CJI B.R. Gavai called repeated adjournment requests “very unfair to the Court” and questioned whether the government wanted the case heard after his November 23 retirement.
- The bench criticized a late application seeking referral to a five-judge Constitution Bench, calling the timing tactical, while the attorney general maintained that substantial constitutional questions warrant a reference.
- The judges said they had cleared Friday to conclude arguments and planned to use the weekend to draft the judgment, noting that delays disrupted this timetable.
- The petitions led by the Madras Bar Association challenge the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 for re-enacting provisions on tenure, age limits and selection that the Supreme Court had previously struck down for undermining tribunal independence.