Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007

The Union of India appealed against the Armed Forces Tribunal’s order quashing the convening of a General Court Martial against former Army officer P.S. Gill, who was alleged to have been involved in procurement irregularities. After a Court of Inquiry identified twelve officers, including Gill, a hearing under Rule 22…

Lance Naik Gursewak Singh and Lance Naik Kala Singh, both serving in the Indian Army, consumed liquor and got into a heated argument over seniority. Singh seized Kala's rifle and fired a single bullet, killing him. A court‑martial convicted Singh under IPC s.302 read with Army Act s.69, sentencing him to life imprisonm…

Lt. Col. Kuldeep Yadav, an officer of the Army Corps of EME, was found to have maintained unauthorized contact with a Brazilian national for over two years, stayed with her in Army premises, and kept official documents on a laptop connected to the internet. A Staff Court of Inquiry recommended censure, and the competen…

The case concerned officers of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) of the rank of Lt General (or equivalent) and the Director General AFMS, who were appointed for a fixed two‑year tenure subject to age limits. The Armed Forces Tribunal held that the tenure clause was ultra vires and ordered retirement at the age o…

Bijender Singh, an ex‑army officer, was invalided out in 1989 for generalized tonic‑clonic seizures assessed at less than 20% disability. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) dismissed his petition for the disability element of pension, holding that because his disability was below 20% he was not entitled to it, and also di…

Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S.K. Sahni, former Director General, Supplies and Transport, was investigated by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) for alleged irregularities in procurement and quality control. The CoI recommended only a recordable censure, but the Army Commander ordered disciplinary action under the Army Act and Army Rules, l…

The appellants challenged final orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal under Section 30 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, contending that they could appeal directly to the Supreme Court. The central issue was whether Section 30(1) confers a vested right of appeal independent of the procedure laid down in Section 31,…

Laxmanram Poonia enlisted in the Indian Army in 2005 and was diagnosed with acute schizophrenia in 2007, leading to his invalidation in 2009 with a 60% disability rating. The Medical Board concluded the disability was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service, and the Armed Forces Tribunal rejected his…

The Supreme Court examined whether orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) are amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. The Union of India contended that Section 14 of the AFT Act and Article 227(4) barred High Courts from exercising such jurisdiction, relying on the decision in Union of I…

The sailor R. Karthik was dismissed from the Indian Navy under Section 45(a) of the Navy Act after a superior officer complained that Karthik had struck him during an incident at sea. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) set aside the dismissal, deeming it disproportionate, and substituted it with a 75‑day detention and los…

The petitioners, former Short Service Commission officers of the Indian Navy, challenged the denial of Permanent Commission (PC) before the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). The AFT relied on vacancy calculations and selection board records that were submitted to it in a sealed cover and were not disclosed to the petitioner…

The appellant, a Havaldar in the Indian Army, was discharged in 2001 after being diagnosed with AIDS based on a medical report that linked his HIV-positive status with neuro‑tuberculosis. He challenged the discharge, arguing that the diagnosis was erroneous, his CD4 count remained above the threshold prescribed in the …

The Union of India appealed against an Armed Forces Tribunal order that set aside an Additional Court of Inquiry (COI) and directed a fresh COI because the original COI included the Presiding Officer and two Technical Members who had prepared the inquiry report. The respondent, Colonel Sanjay Jethi, claimed that this c…

Lt. Col. Vijaynath Jha, a commissioned officer of the Indian Army, was seconded to the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) for two years. After the tenure he applied for permanent secondment, but the Quality Assurance Selection Board (QASB) found him unfit and the Ministry of Defence rejected his complaint.…

Commander Ravindra V. Desai was convicted by a court‑martial of making obscene telephone calls to the wives of three naval officers, resulting in dismissal from service and forfeiture of 24 months' seniority. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) upheld the conviction on seven charges but substituted the dismissal with loss …

The case concerned women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers of the Indian Navy who, after completing fourteen years of service, were denied consideration for Permanent Commission (PC) despite policy letters and regulations indicating such a right. The petitioners challenged the 2008 policy letter that made PC gran…

S. Muthu Kumaran, a Havildar/Clerk in the Indian Army, was alleged to have participated in a fraudulent recruitment racket in 2006 and had earlier given a confessional statement, which he later claimed was made under coercion. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 26 Infantry Division issued a show‑cause notice, …

Veerendra Kumar Dubey, an operator in the Indian Army, was discharged after accruing four red‑ink entries for overstaying leave. Although a show‑cause notice was issued, no impartial inquiry was conducted as required by the Army Headquarters circular of 28 December 1988, which prescribes a preliminary enquiry and consi…

Lt. Col. Dharamvir Singh, an Indian Army officer, was posted in Nanded, Maharashtra when an attachment order dated 5 October 2018 was issued by the Army headquarters to initiate disciplinary action under Army Instruction 30/86. He challenged the attachment order through a writ petition under Article 226 before the Mani…

The Union of India appealed against an Armed Forces Tribunal order that quashed a 2009 policy directing the creation of supernumerary Colonel posts for all Army streams and directed the government to allocate 141 additional posts to the Combat Support stream. The respondents, officers commissioned into the Service stre…

Air Commodore N.K. Sharma, a Judge Advocate General (Air) in the Indian Air Force, claimed that the Ministry of Defence failed to form a policy for filling the upgraded AVM JAG (Air) post and that his promotion was unjustly denied. He filed a complaint under Section 27 of the Air Force Act, which led the Armed Forces T…

The case arose from the loss of two pistols during a T‑90 tank conversion exercise of the 71 Armoured Regiment at Pokhran. The accused soldiers, Neeraj Kumar Dhaka and Sandeep Kumar, were convicted by a District Court Martial for theft and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and dismissal. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT…

Three naval personnel (AK Singh, UK Singh and DK Singh) were accused of a bank robbery at the Andhra Bank counter in INS Virbahu. The Court Martial convicted AK and UK, dismissing them with disgrace, while the Armed Forces Tribunal later affirmed their convictions based on eyewitness testimony of the bank manager (PW‑1…

The case concerned ex‑servicemen who, after being granted disability pension, sought arrears of pension dating back to their discharge dates, invoking the Supreme Court's 2014 judgment in Union of India v. Ram Avtar which recognized a broad‑banding right. The Union of India appealed, arguing that the Limitation Act, 19…

Three former Indian Navy sailors who served in the Submarine Arm retired in 1983 challenged the Armed Forces Tribunal's order that excluded Submarine Pay from pension calculations. They argued that Submarine Pay, introduced by a 1967 Government letter, was "pay for all purposes" and should be part of the basic pay used…

The case concerned several writ petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). The Union of India argued that Sections 30 and 31 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, together with Articles 136(2) and 227(4) of the Constitution, bar High Court jurisdiction…

The appellant, a Colonel in the Army Ordnance Corps, was tried by a General Court Martial on three charges: corruption for accepting Rs 10,000, possession of ammunition without licence, and an act prejudicial to good order and discipline for possessing Rs 28,000 cash. The GCM convicted him of the first two charges and …

The appellant, a soldier, was involved in a drunken altercation at a farewell party where the deceased Dafadar Ram Pratap attempted to intervene and was later found stabbed to death. The appellant surrendered to police, gave a voluntary confession, and was tried before a General Court Martial, which convicted him of cu…

Baksish Ahmad, a Border Security Force constable, was dismissed for contracting a second marriage without permission. He filed a statutory petition under Rule 28A of the BSF Rules, which was rejected, and subsequently filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Co…

Four ex‑recruits of the Maratha Light Infantry were dismissed in 2013 on the ground that they had secured enrollment under the Unit Headquarters Quota by producing forged relationship certificates. The appellants contended that they had applied as general‑category candidates and never submitted any such certificates. T…

Balkrishna Ram, a candidate for armed forces service, was discharged after failing the aptitude test and height criteria. He appealed the discharge before the Allahabad High Court, and the matter proceeded to a single judge. The appellant contended that the intra‑court appeal against the single judge’s order should be …

Man Kanhaiya Kumar enlisted in the Indian Army in 2009 using a falsified relationship certificate that claimed his father was an ex‑serviceman. After six years, a show‑cause notice alleged fraudulent enrolment and he was dismissed under Section 20(3) of the Army Act, 1950. The appellant challenged the dismissal before …

The appellants, former Direct Entry Artificers of the Indian Navy, served ten years of active duty and claimed that they were automatically placed in the Fleet Reserve for another ten years, with fifty percent of that period counting toward the fifteen years of service required for a pension. The respondents contended …

LAC Yogesh Pathania was tried by a District Court Martial (DCM) for insubordinate language, use of criminal force and conduct prejudicial to good order under the Air Force Act, 1950, and was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and dismissal. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) upheld the DCM's findings and dismissed his app…

The appellant, Col. Anil Kumar Gupta, was charged under Section 45 of the Army Act for conduct unbecoming an officer. The aggrieved officer wrote a letter on 13‑08‑2015 alleging that the appellant had sent indecent messages to his wife, which triggered disciplinary action. The question before the Supreme Court was whet…

Squadron Leader Navtej Singh, an Indian Air Force officer, applied for permission to marry a Canadian immigrant in 2008 but contracted the marriage without waiting for the required approval. He was later invalidated from service on medical grounds in November 2009. After his retirement, he sought to have his wife and d…

The Supreme Court examined several writ petitions filed by army personnel who had been tried by Summary Courts Martial (SCM) convened by Commanding Officers (CO) of units other than the units to which they belonged. The Delhi High Court had held that only the CO of the accused's own unit could convene an SCM, while the…

The case concerned Major R. Metri, a Recruiting Medical Officer, who was convicted by a General Court Martial for helping candidates clear Army recruitment rallies in exchange for money, under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Army Act. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) set aside the court‑martial’s conviction und…

Air Commodore Naveen Jain, along with nine other officers, was considered for promotion to Air Vice Marshal. Although he topped the merit list, he was third in seniority on the select list and the vacancies arose after his superannuation, so he was not promoted. He challenged the Air Force Promotion Policy dated 20 Feb…

Colonel Ran Singh Dudee, an army officer, was tried by a General Court Martial (GCM) and sentenced to cashiering and imprisonment, but the proceedings were later annulled under Section 165 of the Army Act, 1950, and he was reinstated with loss-of-salary benefits. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel and later given a time‑sc…

Ram Khilawan, an ex‑sepoy (washerman) who joined the Indian Army on 23 Oct 1987, was discharged on 31 Aug 1993 on medical grounds after being placed in a permanent Low Medical Category (BEE) due to a CNS seizure. He challenged the discharge, arguing that it was made under Rule 13(3)(III)(v) of the Army Rules, 1954, wit…

Veer Pal Singh, an Army signalman, was discharged after the Invalidating Medical Board diagnosed him with "Schizophrenic Reaction" and denied his claim for disability pension on the ground that the condition was not attributable to military service. He challenged the discharge and pension denial through successive writ…

Mohammed Ansari, a member of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF), sought non‑functional financial upgradation after completing the requisite service. He filed an original application before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which, despite a preliminary objection by the Government on jurisdiction, ente…

The petitioners, a group of army porters engaged as casual daily‑wage labour in border areas, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking to be treated as regular employees with the benefits of minimum pay‑scales, medical facilities, compensation and regularisation. The Union government argued that the porters are s…