Bhubaneswar, Dec 7: There is no need to reconsider the decision to abolish Odisha Administrative Tribunal (OAT), said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday while replying to an unstarred question in the winter session of assembly.
The state government had decided to abolish the Tribunal on September 9 last year whose jurisdiction was equivalent to the High Court of Orissa, he added. The Supreme Court in 1997 while adjudicating a case filed by L Chandra Kumar had observed that aggrieved parties challenging the Tribunal’s verdict in apex court is unconstitutional as they can approach the High Court before moving the apex court. In view of this, the main aim of constituting OAT is not met, he further added. The state government has sent a proposal to the Government of India regarding abolition of OAT and it’s under consideration. If the organization is dismantled, the cases pending here will be heard and an opinion has been sought from the High Court as to where the employees and judges working in the organization will be accommodated, the CM concluded.
Notably, there are 38,110 original cases, 382 transferred cases and 27,133 other cases subjudiced in the tribunal.
