Armed Forces Tribunal cleared

The Armed Forces got their long-standing demand today when the Cabinet cleared the proposal for an Armed Forces Tribunal, which will allow adjudication of complaints and disputes within the Services. About 7,300 cases of Armed Forces personnel are pending with various high courts and the Supreme Court.

Unanimously of the opinion that the increasing number of disgruntled personnel taking recourse to civilian justice was compelling the Armed Forces to 8216;8216;wash their dirty linen in public8217;8217;, this will be the first Armed Forces Tribunal for disputes regarding service matters and will open avenues for personnel to seek redressal.

A number of court cases involving officers in the last few years have embarrassed the Services, compelling a flow of information that would normally kept closed if within the military system. Examples include promotion tussle between two Air Vice Marshals and the IAF, cases of sexual harassment or allegedly wrongful dismissal, fake killings by Army personnel.