Challenge to tribunal rules in India

A petition has been filed in the High Court in Chandigarh challenging newly proposed rules that could affect the independence of the Armed Forces Tribunal, according to this Times of India report. Excerpt:

The Punjab and Haryana high court has issued notice to the Union government on a plea challenging the recently notified rules for various tribunals, which allegedly undermine the independence of the quasi-judicial bodies and place them under the control of the Centre. 

The petition, filed by former president of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Bar Association Surinder Sheoran, said that the rules were in contravention of law laid down by the Supreme Court in the cases of Madras Bar Association and R Gandhi and of the Punjab and Haryana high court in Navdeep Singh versus the Union of India. 

It has been stated in the petition that so far as the AFT was concerned, the Union Government had provided that it would function under the ministry of defence. In addition, the defence secretary, who is the first opposite party in every litigation, should be a part of the committee for recruiting and re-appointing members of the tribunal and for their removal and inquiry against them, which was specifically barred by the Supreme Court in the Madras Bar Association's case and by the high court in Navdeep Singh's case.