Court's 'AFT only' verdict wounds defence personnel

Indian Military Veterans

CHANDIGARH : Resentment is brewing in serving and retired defence personnel after a recent Supreme Court verdict made Armed Forces Tribunals (AFTs) the only forum for them to redress their grievances. Many feel their legal right to appeal against AFT orders has been unfairly curtailed.

Several armed forces welfare organizations have approached the central government to amendment the AFT Act to negate the impact of the verdict. According to them, most complaints are against the ministry of defence (MOD) and given that AFTs are an organ of the MOD, there should be a separate body to challenge orders.

Bhimsen Sehgal, chairman of All India Ex-serviceman welfare association, argues that the right of judicial remedy should not be snatched away from defence personnel. He has submitted a representation to the defence minister, requesting him to either have the AFT Act amended, make room for appeal after AFT orders or set aside the AFTs altogether.

Defence personnel could challenge AFT orders before the high courts until the Supreme Court's March 11 order which held that AFT verdicts cannot be challenged. An aggrieved serving or retired soldier would have no other remedy. They can challenge the order before the Supreme Court but only if a "point of law of general public importance" is involved. 

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Veterans and legal experts say a war widow, whose pension has been abruptly stopped would hardly be able to convince the apex court that her case is of public importance, effectively closing all doors for her.

Setup in 2009, AFTs are part of a separate redressal mechanism that handles all cases related to retired and serving personnel.

Advocate and a former officer of Army's legal branch, Colonel N K Kohli (retd) says in the past few years, thousands of AFT orders have been set aside by the high courts and Supreme Court. "The situation was much better before the AFTs were constitutedIt allowed armed forces personnel to move the high courts or Supreme Courts for their grievance," he adds .

Founder president of AFT's Chandigarh bar association, Major Navdeep Singh says, "By losing their access to judicial review, defence personnel and their families have become lesser citizens. One cannot imagine veterans and widows from various parts of the country fighting their cases of benefits involving a few hundred rupees in the Supreme Court."

HCs turned down 90% orders The high courts turned down nearly 90% of orders by the Armed Forces Tribunals after they were made the appellate body in 2011. This was especially true in cases of disability pension to soldiers, where the AFT upheld the defence ministry's stand. A soldier who is disabled during service gets 25% more pension. However, MOD often refuses to pay the additional amount on technical grounds. High courts had favoured the soldiers.

Verdict Impact

1) AFT would become the court of first instance as well as court of last instance

2) Defence personnel, ex-servicemen and their families across the country would have no choice but to travel to Delhi and engage lawyers

3) Contesting cases in SC involve huge litigation cost

4) SC will hear a case only id it involve a point of general public importance

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