By IANS
New Delhi : Parliament on Thursday approved a bill to establish a tribunal to adjudicate disputes and complaints of armed forces personnel relating to appointments, enrolment and service conditions.
The Rajya Sabha had passed the Armed Forces Tribunal Bill last week. On Thursday, it received the Lok Sabha’s nod amid vociferous protests by MPs against the demolition of the Babri Masjid 15 years ago on Dec 6.
The Lok Sabha was to have discussed the bill on Wednesday but this was deferred by a day. Amid the din Thursday, Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal asked Defence Minister A.K. Antony to move the bill, put it to vote and declared it passed.
The Armed Forces Tribunal, the military version of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), will be independent of the country’s judicial system and will have benches in all major regions of the country.
The tribunal will address the “genuine grievances” of the armed forces and also ensure that discipline in the defence services is not impacted.
The bill also provides for appeals against orders, findings or sentences of courts-martial held under the Army Act, the Navy Act, and the Air Force Act, all of which will be modified.
There are, at present, over 9,000 cases of armed forces pending before various courts in the country, while another 125 cases are before the Supreme Court.
All these cases will be transferred to the tribunal when it becomes fully functional.