NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Monday deprecated the Union govt's request, made mid-hearing, to refer to a five-judge bench petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Tribunal Reforms Act, which sets out uniform service conditions for chairpersons and members of various tribunals.A bench led by CJI B R Gavai, which had heard the arguments of petitioners and adjourned hearing at attorney general R Venkataramani's request, to enable his participation in an international arbitration, said it was shocking for the Centre to make this request after the petitioners concluded arguments.'No Remorse, God Provoked Me': Lawyer Rakesh Kishore Defends His Shoe Attack On CJI BR Gavai"We do not expect the Union of India to take such a stand and play tactics with the court," said CJI Gavai, who will retire 20 days later. "We heard the petitioners' counsel ...and others fully on merit. The AG did not point out even once that the Centre would request for reference of the issue to a 5-J bench." "We will reject this application with an observation that the Union govt is making attempts to avoid the bench (as CJI is demitting office shortly)," the CJI said.Didn't expect govt to file application at midnight: CJI The attorney general (AG) said the same was never his or the govt's intention but accepted pleading for reference to a five-judge bench, saying he did so after concluding that substantial questions of law involved made it a fit case for adjudication by a Constitution bench.But CJI BR Gavai-led bench was unforgiving and said, "We did not expect the Union govt to indulge in such tactics that too by filing an application at midnight prior to scheduled hearing. After we have heard the petitioners fully, the Union govt cannot be permitted to take the plea for reference to a larger bench." CJI Gavai added that, "If we, on consideration of the arguments, arrive at a conclusion that the matter involves substantial questions of law requiring reference to a 5-judge bench, we will do so." The bench went on to hear the AG, who defended the legislation bringing uniformity of service conditions for tribunal chairpersons and members. It adjourned further hearing to Nov 7.In its application, the Union govt had said, "The case at hand raises substantial questions of law relating to the interpretation of the Constitution, which would require that the case be referred to a bench of not less than five judges in terms of Article 145(3) of the Constitution." Another question raised by the Centre was whether Supreme Court has the power to issue a 'mandamus' to the Union of India or to Parliament to frame a law in a particular manner and in no other manner and whether such power would not violate the doctrine of separation of powers, a fundamental feature of the Constitution.The Centre's application further asked whether the plenary power of Parliament to make legislation can at all be circumscribed by directives issued by the court in a previous case.