In a major setback for the Union government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down key provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, holding that the law sought to override its earlier judgments on the tenure of tribunal members and threatened the principle of judicial independence.

A bench led by the Chief Justice BR Gavai observed that the Centre had "reintroduced old wine in a new bottle" by replicating the provisions of a 2021 Ordinance that the court had already invalidated.

The Act, like the Ordinance, limited the term of tribunal members to four years—contrary to the court’s earlier direction prescribing longer, fixed tenures to ensure independence from executive influence.

Expressing strong disapproval, the court said it was "unfortunate" that Parliament had chosen to reen

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