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Pratibha inaugurates Armed Forces Tribunal

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Pratibha inaugurates Armed Forces Tribunal

NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Patil on Saturday expressed confidence that the newly created Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) will set standards of reference for courts in the county in terms of ethics, systematic working methodology and equitable justice.

Inaugurating the AFT, whose Principal Bench becomes operational from Monday here, Ms. Patil said while she was confident that the Tribunal would meet the challenges of administrating justice in a fair and equitable manner, it should follow the strictest standards of probity in its work and conduct.

The President suggested that the Tribunal should explore new ways and use technologies from the very beginning and put online its list of cases along with their date of hearings.

``There should be predictability in court hearings and adjournments granted only in very exceptional circumstances. I hope the Tribunal will conduct its work in a manner which ensures that cases are handled expeditiously and proceedings are completed as soon as possible’’, Ms. Patil said in her address.

She also advised the AFT to be particular in avoiding the building up of backlogs that become a cause of delay and defeating the purpose of speedy justice for which the Tribunal has been established.

Efforts of the Defence Minister in converting the long-pending issue into a reality came for all round praise, with the Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily making a special mention. In his brief address he noted that justice is not an act of charity but that of entitlement. He hoped that the Tribunal does not get caught in the web of bureaucracy.

On his part the Defence Minister Mr. Antony said the AFT comes into being 27 years after the Supreme Court had observed there was a lacuna and had asked the Government to take steps to provide for at least one judicial review in service matters.

Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan said he hoped the AFT would serve as an effective redressal mechanism. He said it should demonstrate efficiency by healthy disposal of cases.

The Government has already announced that former Supreme Court judge Justice A.K. Mathur would be the Chairperson of the AFT that will have 29 members and other posts of officers and staff. It has 8 judicial members and 15 administrative members. A total of 15 courts will function with three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow and one each in Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai and Jaipur.

Currently there are about 9,000 cases pending in various courts of the country and now apart from the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the Tribunal will have exclusive jurisdiction in nearly all issues relating to the conditions of their service ranging from tenure to seniority, promotion and pension benefits.

The Tribunal will also act as the appellate forum for the Armed Forces personnel against verdicts of court-martial, thus meeting a major demand of the tri-services.
 
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