An order convening General Court Martial can be assailed before the Armed Force Tribunal under Sec 14; SC.

Supreme Court of India

Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice  L. Nageswara Rao

The SC { UNION OF INDIA & ORS. v. P.S. GILL} upholds the judgment of the armed force tribunal quashing the order dated 23.02.2010, by which General Court Martial was convened against the Respondent.

It was held  that any proceeding which leads to an order of termination would fall within the expression ‘relating to conditions of service’. Further held, in any event, the proceedings initiated against the Respondent cannot be said to be not related to his service. As final order to be passed by the General Court Martial, apart from the imposition of other penalties, might have led to the termination of the service of the Respondent.

It was held that Section 14 of the Act which confers jurisdiction over service matters of the Army personnel should receive wide construction. The SC had held that an interpretation which confers jurisdiction should be preferred over an interpretation which takes away jurisdiction. Accordingly, it was held that validity of the order convening the General Court Martial can be assailed before the Armed Force Tribunal under Section 14 of the Act. The appeal was dismissed.