The Supreme Court on 26-06-2018 declined to extend the term of three members in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) until all seven vacancies are filled up.
A Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra, while refusing to give any relief said that there were many vacancies in the Supreme Court as well but they could not extend the term of Supreme Court judges like that.
The SC extended the tenure of president and other members of NCDRC twice in the past six months due to delay in completion of the selection process. Recently Justice R K Agrawal, who retired from the SC barely four weeks ago, was appointed as the new NCDRC president. However, he is yet to take over. The increasing vacancy has led to the rise in the average period between two hearings in the NCDRC, which increased to 94 days this year against 81 days in 2015.
[Source: New Indian Express]
