What is The Armed Forces Tribunal

The Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, was passed by the Parliament and led to the formation of AFT with the power provided for the adjudication or trial by Armed Forces Tribunal of disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolments and conditions of service in respect of persons 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, findings or sentences of courts-martial held under the said Acts and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, was passed by the Parliament and led to the formation of AFT with the power provided for the adjudication or trial by Armed Forces Tribunal of disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolments and conditions of service in respect of persons 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, findings or sentences of courts-martial held under the said Acts and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, was passed by the Parliament and led to the formation of AFT with the power provided for the adjudication or trial by Armed Forces Tribunal of disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolments and conditions of service in respect of persons 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, findings or sentences of courts-martial held under the said Acts and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
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1. What is the Armed Forces Tribunal? The Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, was passed by the Parliament and led to the formation of AFT with the power provided for the adjudication or trial by Armed Forces Tribunal of disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolments and conditions of service in respect of persons 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, findings or sentences of courts-martial held under the said Acts and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Source : https://bit.ly/2PatTw9

2. What is the significance of AFT Act, 2007 in the Indian Judicial system? Prior to the AFT Act, the military administration and justice delivery system were an executive agency belonging to and under the control of the military commander. A commander exercised almost unrestrained and unlimited discretion in determining (1) who shall be tried, (2) the prima facie sufficiency of the proof, (3) the sufficiency of the charge, (4) the composition of the court, (5) all questions of law arising during the progress of the trial, (6) the correctness of the proceedings and their sufficiency in law and in fact. Under such a system, all these questions are controlled not by law but by the power of Military Command. Courts-martial were not courts, but were, in fact, simply instrumentalities of the executive power. With the AFT Act, disputes of uniformed personnel and the appeals from the decisions of courts-martial can now be treated in a similar transparent manner and at par with the social justice system. Source : https://bit.ly/2PatTw9

3. How Many Benches of AFT are There? The Armed Forces Tribunal has a Chairperson appointed by the Central Government. The Tribunal also has Judicial Members and Administrative Members appointed by the Central Government as per the terms of the Act. Each bench of the Tribunal has one Judicial and Administrative Member respectively. Source : https://bit.ly/2PatTw9

4. What are the criteria for the Judicial Members of AFT Benches? The Judicial Members of AFT benches are retired High Court Judges and 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, Judge Advocate General (JAG), who have held the appointment for at least one year are also entitled to be appointed as the Administrative Member. Source : https://bit.ly/2PatTw9

5. What are the functions and powers of the AFT? The Tribunal shall exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and authority exercisable under this Act in relation to appeal against any order, decision, finding or sentence passed by a court-martial or any matter connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Tribunal shall have the power to grant bail to any person accused of an offence and in military custody, with or without any conditions which it considers necessary. The Tribunal shall allow an appeal against conviction by a court-martial where the finding of the court-martial is legally not sustainable due to any reason whatsoever, or the finding involves the wrong decision on a question of law, or there was a material irregularity in the course of the trial resulting in a miscarriage of justice, but, in any other case, may dismiss the appeal where the Tribunal considers that no miscarriage of justice is likely to be caused or has actually resulted to the appellant. The Tribunal may allow an appeal against conviction, and pass appropriate order thereon. The Tribunal may have the powers to substitute for the findings of the court-martial, a finding of guilty for any other offence for which the offender could have been lawfully found guilty by the court-martial and pass a sentence afresh for the offence specified or involved in such findings or if the sentence is found to be excessive, illegal or unjust. The Tribunal may release the appellant, if sentenced to imprisonment, on parole with or without conditions; suspend a sentence of imprisonment; Or pass any other order as it may think appropriate. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, for the purposes of jurisdiction and powers, the Tribunal shall be deemed to be a criminal court for the purposes of relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Source : https://bit.ly/2PatTw9

6. Can High Courts entertain pleas against the AFT? Supreme Court has barred High Courts (HCs) from entertaining pleas under writ jurisdiction against the verdicts of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) in disputes pertaining to Armed forces. SC ruling also set aside the order of Delhi High Court which had allowed the writ petition against army personnel. Sections 30 of AFT Act, 2007 states: Subject to the provisions of section 31, an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court against the final decision or order of the tribunal. Until 2007, when AFT came into existence, High Courts only entertained petitions under article 226 of the Constitution on limited ground of judicial review, that is illegality, perversity and irrationality. The defense ministry pointed out that the constitutional provisions that direct the High Court to exercise supervisory jurisdiction over any court or tribunals, specifically exclude the Armed Forces. However, the High courts and the Supreme Court have the power of judicial review over court-martial proceedings if these have resulted in denial of fundamental rights or suffer from a jurisdiction issue. Source : https://bit.ly/2PatTw9

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