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Section 33 of the Benami Act: Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and Members of Appellate Tribunal

Section 33 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 deals with the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Chairperson and Members of the Appellate Tribunal. It also fixes a time limit for filling a vacancy in the office of the Chairperson or any other Member.

Text and meaning of Section 33

What Section 33 provides

• Salary and allowances are prescribed: The Act does not itself state the monetary amounts. It authorises the applicable rules to prescribe the salary, allowances and other service conditions.
• Protection during tenure: Once the Chairperson or a Member is in office, the applicable service conditions cannot be changed to that person's disadvantage during the tenure.
• Vacancies must be filled promptly: A vacancy in the office of the Chairperson or any other Member is required to be filled within three months from the date the vacancy occurs.

Why the protection against disadvantage matters

The words "shall not be varied to their disadvantage during their tenure" create a statutory safeguard for the institutional independence and security of service of the Tribunal's Chairperson and Members. The provision prevents an adverse alteration of the applicable salary, allowances or other service conditions during the subsisting tenure.

Meaning of "Appellate Tribunal"

Under Section 2(3) of the Act, "Appellate Tribunal" means the Appellate Tribunal established under Section 30. Section 30 empowers the Central Government, by notification, to establish the Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals under the Act.

Related provisions

Section 33 should be read with the neighbouring provisions governing the constitution and functioning of the Appellate Tribunal, particularly Section 31 on composition, Section 32 on qualifications, Section 34 on term of office, and Section 40 on procedure and powers.