Land dispute tribunal languishes without judges

The tribunal,which settles land disputes,now has only one bench to try a staggering 80,000 cases.

A notice issued on January 9 by Arjun Gupta,registrar of the tribunal,declared: “The second and the third bench will not sit on and from 9th January,2009 for want of judicial and administrative members until further notice.”

A bench consists of a judicial member,usually a retired High Court judge,and an administrative member who is usually a retired bureaucrat of the joint secretary level.

Of the 80,000 cases pending in the tribunal,10,000 are writ petitions,20,000 transfer cases and 50,000 are original applications.

“This government claims they protect the interest of the farmers and other poor people. I have to come all the way from Mathabhanga but my case has been pending there for six months. This government is so indifferent,” Rehman rued.

The tribunal officials say the fourth bench has never functioned. “From the very beginning,the fourth bench never functioned. Even the third bench remained largely shut. And now the tribunal has only one bench. There are even 40-year-old cases pending there (cases transferred from the High Court). This government just does not care,” an official told The Indian Express.

When contacted,Minister for land and land reforms Abdur Rezzaq Mollah admitted there is a problem. “There is a problem there. We have asked the judicial department to send names of judicial officers. We hope the problem will be solved soon,” Mollah said.