Jurisdiction of High Courts cannot be bypassed: Delhi HC rules on judicial review against AFT orders

The issue before the court in a batch of petitions was whether a High Court can exercise the judicial review in writ jurisdiction against the judgements and orders passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal. Centre had argued that the Supreme Court has specifically held that High Courts should not entertain writ petitions against judgments passed by Armed Forces Tribunal as the parties have an alternative effective remedy of filing an appeal before the Supreme Court under Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.

However, the court said that a Tribunal has to function under the statute whereas the higher judiciary including the High Courts is entrusted not only with the task of interpreting the laws and the Constitution, but also with judicial superintendence over the Tribunals in order to preserve the independence of judiciary.

“The Constitution confers on the Constitutional Court the power of judicial review which is exclusive in nature. Judicial review goes some way to answer the age old question ‘who guards the guards’? Judicial review among many other important aspects of the Constitution is indispensable and while creating any other mode of adjudication of disputes, the judicial review cannot be compromised with,” said the bench.

The court also said that the power of judicial review has consistently been held to be one of the basic features of the Constitution. “However, the Writ Court while examining the judgment/order passed by the Tribunal, will exercise the power of judicial review which means that the Court shall examine the decision-making process and interfere only for correcting errors of jurisdiction or errors apparent on the face of record or if the Tribunal acts illegally,” it said.

It further emphasized that judicial restraint should be exercised when the reasons that a tribunal gives for its decision are being examined.