In a significant judgment expected to strengthen the orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), a larger Bench of the tribunal, comprising Justice Anu Malhotra, Lt. General CP Mohanty, and Rear Admiral Dhiren Vig, ruled on Wednesday that the AFT possesses contempt of court powers to enforce its orders in cases of willful non-compliance.
The larger bench was formed in 2014 after a two-member bench in Delhi raised concerns following a Kerala High Court judgment directing the Kochi Bench of AFT to invoke contempt powers in case of non-compliance by defense authorities.
The matter referred to the larger bench included cases filed by Lt. Col. Mukul Dev in 2014 at the Kolkata Bench and suo-moto contempt proceedings initiated by the Chandigarh Bench. Hearings in the case were held in April and May of this year.
In a judgment exceeding 500 pages, perhaps the longest in the AFT’s history, the larger bench interpreted Section 29 of the AFT Act and Rule 25 of the AFT Rules, concluding that the legislature did not intend to leave the AFT powerless.
The bench observed that more than 5,000 of its orders remain unimplemented without any stay from the High Court or the Supreme Court. Previously, the Punjab & Haryana High Court had criticized the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for not implementing AFT orders.
The Supreme Court and various High Courts have also issued strong remarks against the MoD for filing frivolous appeals against disabled personnel and other pensioners in settled matters.
Advocate Rajiv Manglik represented Lt. Col. Mukul Dev.
Additional Solicitor General Vikramjeet Banerjee and advocate Anil Gautam represented the Union of India.
Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao of Delhi High Court and advocate Navdeep Singh of Punjab & Haryana High Court served as Amicii Curiae.
TAGS: Armed Force contempt Non-compliance Ministry of Defense AFT Act Jurisdiction Kerala Court
