High Courts cannot entertain plea against Armed Forces Tribunal: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India on 11 March 2015 held that High Courts (HCs) are barred from entertaining pleas under writ jurisdiction against the verdicts of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) in disputes pertaining to Armed Forces.

Supreme Court (SC) bench comprising Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya and Justice NV Ramana in its direction said that if the HCs entertain a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India against the order passed by AFT, it would by-pass the machinery of statute as enshrined in the AFT Act, 2007. Therefore, there is likelihood of anomalous situation for the aggrieved person in praying for relief from this court.

SC gave away the direction while hearing a bunch of appeals questioning whether the right of appeal under Section 30 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 against an order of the Tribunal will bar the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution regarding matters related to Armed Forces.

Section 30 of AFT Act stipulates that an appeal against the final decision or order of the Tribunal shall lie in the Supreme Court.

Beside this, the SC also set aside an order of Delhi High Court which allowed the writ petition against army personnel.