House clears way for Armed Forces Tribunal

The Lok Sabha on Thursday approved the Armed Forces Tribunal Bill to establish...

The Lok Sabha on Thursday approved the Armed Forces Tribunal Bill to establish special courts to adjudicate disputes and complaints of armed forces personnel relating to appointments, enrolment and service conditions. Piloted by Defence Minister A K Antony, the Bill has been already passed by the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill will pave way to establish the armed forces version of the Central Administrative Tribunal—a long pending demand by armed forces personnel seeking a quick reprieve from grievances ranging from promotion matters, pensions, court martial decisions and appointments.

The tribunal—‘independent’ of the country’s judicial system—will be established in Delhi. The tribunal is expected to be at par with high courts and civil courts will no longer have jurisdiction over service matters once it is put in place.

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Antony, who has been aggressively pushing for the tribunal since taking over the portfolio last year, has assured that benches will be set up as early as possible to dispose all pending cases related to Defence personnel.

“The tribunal is primarily meant for meeting the aspirations of dedicated and highly disciplined soldiers deployed to serve the Defence forces of the Union. The primary objective is to provide a meaningful right of appeal in matter involving discipline and service conditions,” the minister said.

At present, more than 9,000 cases of armed forces are pending before various courts in the country, while another 125 cases are before the SC.