President announces setting up of Armed Forces Tribunal

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today announced the setting up of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which, she said, would enhance the confidence and trust among services personnel in the country's justice dispensation system in relation to their service matters.

The president, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces, said the AFT would go a long way in meeting the longstanding demand of the men in uniform to have the option for a review of decisions of the court martial.

Cautioning that the delay in dispensation of justice defeats the very purpose of delivery of justice, the president asked the tribunal to be particularly careful in avoiding the build-up of backlogs. "There should be predictability in court hearings and adjournments granted only in very exceptional circumstances," she added.

Set up by an Act of Parliament in December 2007, the AFT will have its principal bench in New Delhi and eight regional benches spread across the country. The tribunal will have 15 courts in all - three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow and one each in Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi. The principal bench in New Delhi will be functional from Monday, 10 August.

The AFT will provide a judicial forum for redressal of grievances of about a 1.3 million strong armed forces personnel and another 1.2 million ex-servicemen. Having powers of a criminal court, the tribunal can grant bail to men held in military custody and also hear appeals against sentences handed down by the court-martial. The decisions of the AFT can be challenged only in the Supreme Court.

The tribunal will provide better justice delivery system to the services personnel, particularly those living in remote and inaccessible areas, the Chief Justice of India Justice KG Balakrishnan said. Pointing out that the Army, Navy and the Air Force Acts have some archaic and "authoritative" provisions of the colonial legacy, he observed that there was a general perception that sitting officers of the court martial are not inclined to impartial and fair justice. The tribunal's success parameters would be to ensure fairness, speedy justice and its enforcement, he added.