Will key members’ retirement hamper AFT’s functioning?

LT GEN MUNISH SIBAL OF CHANDIGARH BENCH HANGS UP HIS BOOTS TODAY AND JUSTICE MS CHAUHAN LEAVES NEXT MONTH

CHANDIGARH: Will the functioning of the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) be hampered after two of its key men, administrative member, Lt Gen Munish Sibal and senior most judicial member, justice MS Chauhan, retire?

Sibal hangs up his boots today and Chauhan leaves next month.

The Bench, which is meant to function with three Benches comprising one judicial and one administrative member each, faces an acute manpower crunch. The situation persists even though other members have been working overtime with the administrative member from the Jammu Bench, Rear Admiral AG Thapliyal, occasionally stepping in to help.

What the Bench has achieved, however, is admirable. Headed by justice Chauhan, with justice Mohammad Tahir and Lt Gen Sibal, and despite having the heaviest workload among all AFT Benches, it has disposed of about 11,500 cases in one year from September 2017 to September 2018.

At times, benches have had to sit in double shifts to ensure timely disposal of cases. The current pendency stands at about 5,000 cases.

All benches of the AFT in India are short of hands with only nine judicial members and eight administrative members available out of the sanctioned strength of 34.

The appointment process of members of the AFT has always moved at a tardy pace as a result of which most judicial members have had tenures of just one to two years despite the Supreme Court (SC) order of 2010 that members of tribunals stay put for at least five to seven years to ensure continuity.

In 2017, the Central government had promulgated common rules governing tribunals through which the executive had tightened its grip over the powers of appointment, suspension, removal and other conditions of service of members of various tribunals.

Many parts of the fresh rules were, however, stayed by the apex court earlier this year.

The Central government has also not yet complied with the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court based upon the decision of a constitution bench of the SC, directing that to offset any conflict of interest, the AFT should be placed under the control of the ministry of law and justice instead of depending on the defence ministry, which is the first opposite party in all litigation in the AFT.