The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed two Judicial Members and one Expert Member of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to continue in office beyond the expiry of their extended tenure, until fresh appointments are made. The Bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana said the interim continuation was necessary to ensure that the NGT’s day-to-day functioning was not disrupted.
The Court’s direction came amid concerns that the expiry of the members’ tenure could render some NGT zonal Benches non-functional, as the NGT Act does not permit a single-member Bench. The NGT Bar Association had earlier flagged the issue before the Court.
Attorney General R. Venkataramani informed the Court that 248 tribunal members were eligible for extension under Section 24 of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2026, of whom extension orders had been issued for 229 members, while orders for the remaining 19 were being processed. The Court directed the Centre to proceed with the appointments of members to vacant posts under the new statutory framework without delay.
The AG indicated that the process of appointing fresh NGT members could take around three months, prompting the Court to continue the three members as an interim arrangement until their replacements are appointed.