ARMED FORCES TRIBUNAL (AFT)

March 23, 2019

The Supreme Court held in a recent judgment held that dismissal of a soldier for taking unauthorised leave of over 300 days is not a harsh move. With this it set aside a 2015 decision of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) that the punishment was “harsh and disproportionate”.

About:

Origin: Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) is an Indian military tribunal established in 2009 under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.
Benches: its Principal Bench is in New Delhi. It also has 11 regional benches (as of March 2017).
Objective: To adjudicate complaints wrt appointments and conditions of service in respect of person’s subject to the Army Act, 1950, The Navy Act, 1957 and the Air Force Act, 1950.
- It can further provide for appeals arising out of orders of courts- martial held under the above-mentioned Acts.
Composition:
- Judicial Members are retired High Court Judges.
- Administrative Members are retired Members of the Armed Forces who have held rank of Major General/ equivalent or above for a period of three years or more.
Other key facts:
- Proceedings are conducted as per the Armed Forces Tribunal (Procedure) rules, 2008.
- The Tribunal will normally follow the procedure as practiced by High Courts of India.
- Paramilitary forces including the Assam Rifles and Coast Guard are outside the tribunal's purview.