Disagreeing with High Court, AFT says no jurisdiction over some summary court martial matters

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 12

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has ruled that certain punishments awarded by a summary court martial (SCM) do not come under the ambit of service matters and hence cannot be appealed against before the Tribunal.

While “respectfully disagreeing” with an earlier judgment of the Allahabad High Court, the Tribunal’s Bench comprising Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen PM Hariz observed that the AFT Act excludes all cases arising out of SCM except where the punishment is of dismissal or imprisonment for more than three months as being service matters upon which it can adjudicate.

An Army jawan had moved the AFT against his trial by an SCM that had awarded him a severe reprimand and imposed a fine equal to seven days’ pay for having been found intoxicated while on duty.

His counsel had placed reliance on an earlier judgment of the Allahabad High Court that had ruled that such matters came within the ambit of the AFT, and it has also been followed by some other Benches of the AFT.

The High Court had said that Section 3 (o) of the AFT Act, which defines service matters, also included a clause “any other matter, whatsoever”.

In case these words are not taken into account, it shall make the clause redundant, which is not permissible under interpretative jurisprudence, the High Court had observed.

It was also ruled by the High Court that the punishment of severe reprimand, which affects the career of Army personnel, shall be service matter and shall be amenable before the AFT.

Observing that the Allahabad High Court had taken note of the “inclusion clause” but had very conveniently ignored the “exclusion clause”, the Tribunal said that when the legislative intent and the scheme of the stature is to be interpreted and implemented, the entire definition clause has to be seen.

The Tribunal said it was of the considered view that the Allahabad High Court, while analysing the definition of service matters had interpreted the legislative intent and the scope in a manner which amounts to doing harm to legislative intent by ignoring certain parts of the definition.