JAMMU: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday said the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Jammu Bench has recorded one of the highest disposal rates of service-related cases in the country, citing the performance of the Jammu and Srinagar benches in handling cases transferred from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court as well as fresh petitions.
Speaking after inaugurating the new Office-cum-Court Complex of the CAT Jammu Bench at Bahu Plaza, Singh said the tribunal has significantly strengthened access to speedy justice in service matters involving government employees.
According to official figures cited by the minister, the Jammu and Srinagar benches received 20,984 cases transferred from the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir High Court, of which 18,392 have been disposed of. The benches also received 20,405 fresh cases directly, disposing of 13,952 of them.
Overall, the two benches have handled 41,389 cases, with 9,452 cases pending as of June 30, 2026.
Singh said the figures reflected the tribunal’s capacity to address both inherited and newly instituted service matters efficiently.
He noted that the CAT was established in 1985 under the Administrative Tribunals Act to provide speedy and affordable justice in service disputes and reduce the burden on constitutional courts. He said filing an Original Application before the tribunal requires a fee of ₹50, while several other categories of applications attract no fee.
Highlighting CAT’s national performance, the minister said that by June 30, 2026, a total of 10,01,177 cases had been filed before tribunals across the country, of which 9,32,723 had been disposed of, translating into a disposal rate of about 93.16 per cent.
Singh said the Jammu Bench, which initially functioned with a single division bench, was later strengthened with a second division bench to cope with the increasing workload. The bench currently has two judicial members and two administrative members.
He also pointed to what he described as a relatively low appeal rate from the CAT Jammu Bench, stating that around 8 per cent of its decisions had been challenged before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The minister said the newly inaugurated complex would provide additional space and infrastructure to improve the tribunal’s functioning and facilitate faster disposal of service-related cases.
He also highlighted the increasing use of technology in CAT operations, including e-filing, video conferencing, online case information systems, digital payment of court fees, SMS and email alerts, online certified copies and digitisation of judicial records.
Singh said the government was continuing efforts to strengthen the tribunal system through improved infrastructure, technology and capacity building, including training programmes under the Mission Karmayogi platform.
