Members of the armed forces, including the Air Force, the Navy and the Army, can approach the High Courts to challenge the final decisions of the Armed Forces Tribunals (AFT) involving issues of pay, pension, promotion and discipline, the Delhi High Court has held. The Delhi HC’s ruling is likely to provide reprieve to a large section appellants whose only remedy until now was to petition the Supreme Court against the final order passed by an AFT.
A Bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Navin Chawla said, “The remedy of appeal to apex court in a large number of cases may also prove to be ineffective for the members of the armed forces posted all over India as they may find it expensive and difficult to approach the apex court.”
The Central government, on the other hand, argued that members of the armed forces need not approach the High Courts against decisions of the AFTs as they have an alternative effective remedy of filing an appeal before the Supreme Court under Armed Forces Tribunal Act.
