The Central Government has abolished the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), accepting the long-pending request of the Odisha Government, operating to redress various grievances of State Government employees in Odisha since 1986. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, has issued a gazetted notification in this regard.
In the notification, the DoPT nullified the notification issued earlier on July 4, 1986, for setting up of SAT to redress various grievances of state government employees.
The DoPT notification reads, βOn request from the Government of Odisha, the Central Government had established the Odisha Administrative Tribunal with effect from the 14th July 1986. A notification had been issued in this regard on 4th July 1986. Now, after obtaining the concurrence of the High Court of Orissa, the Odisha Govt has requested abolition of the said Odisha Administrative Tribunal and thus the Central Government hereby rescinds the earlier notification.β
Interestingly, the Odisha cabinet had approved the abolition of SAT on September 9, 2015. Though the decision was opposed by a few sections, the state government had requested the Centre to dismiss the tribunal after obtaining approval of the Orissa High Court for the same. The matter was pending with the Centre since then. Ultimately, the Centre abolished the SAT under Section- 4 (2) of the Administrative Tribunal Act 1985 and Section-21 of General Clauses Act.