The Supreme Court has questioned the 'arbitrariness' in the consideration of 'criteria appointment' for Short Service Commission (SSC) women Army officers seeking permanent commission, compared to their male counterparts. The court is hearing a plea from women officers challenging the denial of permanent commission.
The AFT was intended to reduce military related cases in civil courts. Instead, the backlog in defence-related cases has increased from 9,000 to 16,000 after the AFT's creation.
It is an important move because 7,300 cases of Armed Forces personnel are pending before the High Courts and Supreme Court.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed petitions from the Ministry of Defence challenging disability pension orders for armed forces personnel, emphasizing that such pensions are a right, not an act of generosity, and should not be denied based solely on the location of disability onset or claims of lifestyle diseases.
Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung deserves to be complimented in telling his life story and that of his people, as subaltern communities within this vast and diverse nation of ours clamour for recognition and a plea for their voices to be heard and their aspirations to be met, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the Centre for filing an appeal against an order of the Armed Forces Tribunal, which granted a liberalised pension to the widow of a soldier who died during a counter-terrorism patrol in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian government has refused to accept recommendations for a 10% pension increase for retired regular Army captains under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. The Supreme Court heard an appeal by the government challenging an Armed Forces Tribunal order that mandated a decision on pension for retired captains. The government's decision not to accept the recommendations has led to a delay in resolving pension anomalies for these officers. The case will be heard again on December 12, 2023.
The Supreme Court of India has ordered the Union government to grant a permanent commission to a woman officer in the Army Dental Corps who was denied benefits given to similarly placed officers. The court ruled that the woman officer was wrongly excluded from consideration and that the principle of "what is sauce for the goose ought to be sauce for the gander" applies in this case. The court directed the government to implement the order within four weeks and to extend all consequential benefits, including seniority, promotion, and monetary benefits, to the officer.
'While my generation carries with it the memory of the Chinese perfidy of 1962, this generation will carry the memory of Chinese perfidy in Galwan.'
'Given China's past behaviour and their territorial claims, should we be sceptical regarding China's willingness to adhere to these agreements fully? The answer is yes.' 'As Ronald Reagan famously said in the context of the SALT talks, 'Trust, but verify!' India should also do the same.' 'This has already begun with foot patrolling, drones, satellite imagery and so on. India's military deployment did mirror China's and will continue to do so in the future.'
The Supreme Court came down heavily on the Centre on Tuesday for failing to take any decision for years on the pension payable to retired regular captains of the Army in accordance with the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on it.
According to officials in the know of the development, the findings of a Court of Inquiry and his conviction and sentencing were confirmed by the higher Army authorities on November 11 as required under the law.
The tribunal also granted conditional bail to Captain Bhoopendra Singh and directed him to appear before its principal registrar at a regular interval starting from January next year.
He is only the agent that can bring them that change for they are quite aware that he has articulated no vision on how to set Pakistan back on the rails, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy (retd).
In a disciplined force like the Indian Army seniority has all the importance, the Supreme Court said while commuting the life sentence of a non-commissioned officer held guilty for killing his colleague during an altercation over seniority.
The principal bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal headed by Justice Rajendra Menon also asked the Indian Air Force to change their rules and conditions for granting permission to air warriors for applying for grade A services exams outside the force.
Refusing to accept the tribunal's decision, the families said they would take the matter to a higher court, seeking justice for their sons and hoping to unmask the truth behind the fateful encounter.
'Across India, only nine personnel have refused to take the vaccine. All of them were given show cause notice...one did not respond, so in view of the lack of response, his service is already terminated'
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that armed forces must have some kind of mechanism for disciplinary proceedings against their officers for adultery as "this is a conduct that can shake up the life of officers."
A division bench headed by Justice Geeta Mittal asked the army officer to approach the Armed Forces Tribunal to challenge the proceedings against him.
The Supreme Court on Monday restrained the Centre and Navy from releasing from services some officers (both male and female), who were not granted a permanent commission and sought reply from the Centre.
In his petition, the vice admiral has challenged the government's move to ignore seniority and appoint his junior as the next chief of navy.
Internal simmering in the army has come to a boil after the government tries to retain a discriminatory promotions policy.
Two serving lieutenant generals have approached the Armed Forces Tribunal seeking criminal contempt proceedings against the defence secretary, accusing him of "open defiance" of the tribunal's orders.
The Armed Forces Tribunal on Wednesday asked the army to reconvene the probe against Malegaon blast accused Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, holding that the Court of Inquiry against him "suffers from the vice of irregularity".
Former army commander P K Rath, who was given a clean chit by Armed Forces Tribunal in the Sukna land scam, on Saturday said that the verdict had vindicated his stand while ex-army chief V K Singh demanded that the government should go for appeal against the military panel's judgement.
Colonel Kohli, commanding officer of an artillery regiment in Assam, had taken photographs of civilians splashed with tomato ketchup posing as corpses and gave them to his seniors to stake claim for gallantry award. The incident took place at Bada Nagadun near Silchar in Assam in 2003 and Kohli was dismissed from the Army in November 2004 after a court martial found him guilty.
Colonel (retired) H S Kohli, sacked from the Army for faking encounters during counter insurgency operations in North East in 2003, has filed a review petition before the Armed Forces Tribunal.
In a first of its kind case that has come up in the Delhi-based principal bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal, a serving army doctor has approached the court for admission to the post graduate degree course being conducted in the army's Research and Referral hospital in New Delhi. The doctor, after having cleared the entrance, was turned out on the pretext of lack of resources and teaching faculty
Indian Army officer Lt Col Prasad Purohit, arrested for his alleged involvement in Malegaon blast, has moved the principal bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal in New Delhi to quash the court of inquiry ordered by the Army against him for violation of the Army Act and Rules. In his application, Purohit, who is currently lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, has charged the Army with denying him his right to remain present throughout the proceedings of the court of inquiry.
Former Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, indicted in the Sukna land scam, was attached to the Kolkata-based Eastern Command on Wednesday and asked to report there on February 25.
Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, former military secretary who is facing court martial in the Sukna land scam, is likely to approach the Armed Forces Tribunal against the disciplinary action initiated against him by the army.
The General Court Martial of Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash, indicted in Sukna land scam, will now take place in Guwahati instead of Manipur following his plea and the Armed Forces Tribunal has asked the Army to fix a new date for the trial, which was scheduled to start on June 15.
The Tribunal also refused to give any relief to Commander Vijender Rana and Commander Vinod Kumar Jha on their contention that no court martial was held against them which would have given them an opportunity to defend themselves.
The Armed Forces Tribunal has held that a former army commander showed bias towards a brigadier under whose command some of the major victories were achieved in the 1999 Kargil conflict and directed that the affected officer be considered for a notional promotion.
In fresh revelations of provocative actions, Canada has denied visas to a member of the Armed Forces Tribunal, three serving Brigadiers, a retired Lt General and a former senior Intelligence Bureau official on the grounds that their organisations have been engaging in violence.
Lieutenant General P K Rath, former commander of 33 Corps of the Army, withdrew his petition against his court martial in the Sukna land scam from the Armed Forces Tribunal in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
Former Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, who is facing court martial for the Sukna land scam, on Thursday challenged the punitive action against him, saying Army rules were violated in the case. He approached the Armed Forces Tribunal, seeking quashing of the charges under the Army Act 123 and his attachment to the Western Command. Prakash alleged that the Court of Inquiry conducted by the Eastern Command in the case had violated the Army Rule 180.
The apex court dismissed the petition filed by the Navy challenging the Tribunal's verdict against it to consider Commodore A R Vardhan for promotion by a fresh review promotion board.
After being indicted by the Armed Forces Tribunal for showing bias against a Brigadier and falsifying the accounts of the Kargil war, Lt Gen Kishan Pal on Thursday said he had "not fudged any war reports" and whatever he wrote about the battle was "unbiased".