chandigarh the punjab and haryana high court has issued notice to the union government on a plea challenging the recently notified rules for various tribunals which allegedly undermine the independence of the quasijudicial bodies and place them under the control of the centrethe petition filed by former president of the armed forces tribunal aft bar association surinder sheoran said that the rules were in contravention of law laid down by the supreme court in the cases of madras bar association and r gandhi and of the punjab and haryana high court in navdeep singh versus the union of indiait has been stated in the petition that so far as the aft was concerned the union government had provided that it would function under the ministry of defence in addition the defence secretary who is the first opposite party in every litigation should be a part of the committee for recruiting and reappointing members of the tribunal and for their removal and inquiry against them which was specifically barred by the supreme court in the madras bar associations case and by the high court in navdeep singhs casetill now an sc judge used to hold inquiries against tribunal members the new rules provide that even absence of a representative of the judiciary in the selection process will not make the appointments invalid it has also been stated that while the supreme court had directed a tenure of 5 to 7 years for members to ensure stability the rules have decreased it from the existing 4 years to 3 yearsthe rules have also introduced a new clause wherein any person with experience in business economics commerce finance and accountancy could become a member of the aft while a similar clause was specifically struck down in r gandhis case the petition has also highlighted the new clause allowing aft members to take up employment with the government after retirement which was specifically barred by section 11 of the aft actthe petitioner has also said that even the facilities for the members including those of former hc judges have been downgraded to the level of regular group a officers of the governmentthe new rules have come under fire from many luminaries and experts who opine that not only do the rules contravene the concept of separation of powers and judicial independence but also make all tribunals and their members subservient to the secretaries of the government against whom all orders are to be passedexperts have also expressed surprise over reintroduction of patently illegal clauses even after being repeatedly quashed by the hcs and sc in a number of cases thereby demolishing the confidence of litigants in such tribunals the next date of hearing is august 31