AFT Bar Association writes to CJI alleging that Defence Ministry is interfering with functioning of Armed Forces Tribunal

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Bar Association, Chandigarh Bench has written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud urging him to take cognisance of “contemptuous” actions and direct interference by the Defence Secretary and other officers of the Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the functioning of the AFT..In particular, the August 3 letter addressed to CJI Chandrachud highlighted a “shockingly contemptuous” communication addressed by the Defence Secretary to the AFT's Principal Bench in July, which the association said amounts to interference with the administration of justice by the AFT.According to the Bar Association, the July communication to the AFT contained instructions from the Defence Secretary to prepare a report on recent decisions by the AFT, Chandigarh on pay or pension matters and its analysis.The AFT Principal Bench was also requested to furnish its comments and inputs on the same latest by 5 PM on July 28, the association pointed out.In reaction to this communication, the bar association said in its letter to the CJI,“We strongly protest and object to the Defence Secretary passing directions and orders to a judicial body or treating the AFT as a department under the MoD while in reality it is meant to be an independent statutory tribunal governed by an Act of parliament to render justice to serving and retired soldiers and their families.".This move has shocked the conscience of the bar and brought disquiet among several members of the legal community, stated the letter signed by the association’s President RS Panghal and its Secretary Ajay Sheoran.The association has further urged the Chief Justice of India to treat the letter as a petition and take suo motu cognisance of the issue, so that appropriate proceedings can be initiated against the MoD officer concerned for “directly interfering in the judicial functioning of the AFT.”The communication is not only contemptuous, but also illegal, unethical and against the spirit of Article 50 of the Constitution of India, and contravenes basic principles of independence of the judiciary, the letter said..“Lakshman Rekha crossed”.The association termed the MoD communication seeking judgment analyses from a judicial body that deals with cases against it an absolute crossing of the lakshman rekha. It amounts to browbeating a court, which cannot be taken lightly or overlooked, the association added.The body objected to such a report being sought by the Defence Secretary “as if the tribunal is a department functioning under him”, particularly when the Secretary is a litigant before the AFT in all cases.It further questioned whether secretaries of other government departments could be given such licence to seek “inputs, comments and analysis” from other courts and tribunals..MoD filing mindless applications to bypass High Court.The association also noted that the Chandigarh Bench of the AFT is the largest and busiest bench among all AFTs, with the highest disposal rate and caseload. Its judgments have often been upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court, causing discomfort to certain MoD officers, the associated added.The AFT bench is also facing non-compliance with its judgments and orders in the form of “mindless” filings of leave to appeal applications. In this way, the MoD has been seeking to directly approach the Supreme Court in appeal by bypassing the High Court, the association said. This has increased the workload of the Chandigarh Bench and caused anguish for litigants, the letter stated.Such attitude of the MoD is not new and is widely known, the association has alleged, while referring to the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s observations in Ex-Rifleman Rajender Singh v. Union of India, the observations of the AFT in Yashwant Bharmouria v. Union of India as well as the recent order of the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Armed Forces Tribunal.“Moreover, the massive filing of appeals and non-compliance of orders of the AFT has also gained attention in the media and social media in recent months,” the association said.It added that this appears to have irked certain officers of the MoD, leading to the July 28 communication..MoD officers acting contrary to PM and Law Ministry assurances to reduce government litigation.Certain press releases issued by the MoD, wherein it stated that the Ministry is not filing appeals in settled cases or failing to comply with orders, have also been termed as false by the association.“This statement in this press release is totally against the grim reality of the subject when we are personally aware that there are hundreds of "Leave to Appeal" applications filed by the MoD seeking filing of direct appeals to the Hon'bie Supreme Court, bypassing the Hon'ble High Court, in simple covered matters disposed of in terms of settled law,” the association said.The association further claimed that there are thousands of contempt and execution applications pending in AFTs across India.“Some of the judgments passed 5 to 6 years back have also not been implemented without even any further challenge or stay from the Hon'ble High Court or the Hon'ble Supreme Court, thereby attempting to reduce judicial orders to wastepaper totally lowering the majesty of law and the concept of justice,” the letter to the CJI said.It went on to state that while the Prime Minister, the Law Minister, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General may be stressing on reducing government litigation, MoD officers continue to increase litigation and are now “interfering in judicial processes.”In this regard, the association also noted that according to an answer to a Parliamentary question, there were 87,543 cases involving the MoD in various courts.The association further clarified that it does not have any personal issue against the Defence Secretary, whose mind may have been possibly clouded by MoD officers who do not inform him about the correct state of affairs.“We have nothing personally against him and this issue is not about personalities but propriety,” the letter stated..MoD should be divested of any control over AFTs.Another issue raised is the apparent control that the MoD exercises over the infrastructure, finances and appointments of the AFT.Such control has led to judicial work at the AFT coming to a standstill, as staff appointments are not made and finances for daily functioning are not released, “only because of the fact that the tribunal is perceived to be passing orders against ‘govt policy’ by the MoD.”“The Chandigarh Bench faces an extreme staff and financial crunch and the same seems to be the position in other benches too…It is understood that even the Chairperson of the Tribunal has only been given a tenure of 3 years (extendable on reappointment), whereas under law, the tenure should have been minimum 5 years,” the letter stated.Hence, the association has sought directions so that the MoD is immediately divested from holding any control over the AFT, which would also be in line with the Supreme Court’s rulings in the Tribunal cases (Union of India vs R; Swiss Ribbons Pvt Ltd vs Union of and Madras Bar Association vs Union of India).