AFT Principal Bench Delhi: Filing, Jurisdiction, OAs, Court-Martial Appeals & Limitation Guide 2026

The Armed Forces Tribunal Principal Bench in New Delhi is the specialised statutory forum for military service disputes and court-martial appeals falling within its jurisdiction under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007. For serving personnel, veterans and eligible family members, the most important question is not simply whether a grievance concerns the Armed Forces, but whether the AFT has subject-matter jurisdiction, whether the Principal Bench is the correct Bench, whether departmental remedies have been exhausted and whether the case is within limitation.

This guide is focused specifically on the AFT Principal Bench Delhi filing process. It explains the Principal Bench location, territorial jurisdiction, service Original Applications, disability pension matters, court-martial appeals, exhaustion of remedies, limitation, documents, interim relief and practical filing preparation.

Where Is the Armed Forces Tribunal Principal Bench in Delhi?

The official Armed Forces Tribunal website lists the Principal Bench at:

Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench)
West Block – VIII, Opposite Mohan Singh Market,
Sector – I, R.K. Puram, New Delhi – 110066

The official website currently lists the main telephone as 011-26105362 and the Judicial Enquiry & Filing Section as 011-26171027. Before visiting for filing, inspection or enquiry, current working arrangements should be checked on the official Armed Forces Tribunal website, including cause lists, forms and filing information.

What Is the Territorial Jurisdiction of the Principal Bench?

The official AFT jurisdiction page presently identifies the Principal Bench with New Delhi and separately lists territorial jurisdiction for the regional benches. Territorial jurisdiction should therefore be checked before filing rather than assumed merely because the Ministry of Defence or Service Headquarters is situated in Delhi.

In practice, jurisdiction analysis may require examination of:

the place where the applicant is serving or last served;
the authority that passed the impugned order;
where the material part of the cause of action arose;
the applicable territorial allocation among AFT Benches;
the nature of the pension or service dispute; and
any transfer or administrative order affecting Bench jurisdiction.

The correct Bench should be identified at the beginning because a well-drafted case filed before the wrong forum can still face a jurisdiction objection.

What Can Be Filed Before the AFT?

The Armed Forces Tribunal Act creates two principal streams of jurisdiction.

1. Service Matters Under Section 14

Section 14 of the AFT Act gives the Tribunal jurisdiction in service matters. A person aggrieved by an order pertaining to a service matter may make an application to the Tribunal, subject to the Act, Rules, exhaustion of remedies and limitation.

Typical service matters may include:

disability pension and disability element;
war injury pension and related entitlements;
service pension and retiral benefits;
family pension disputes where maintainable;
medical-board decisions and attributability/aggravation disputes;
promotion and non-empanelment grievances;
ACR/APAR-related service disputes;
pay, allowances and consequential benefits;
discharge, release, invalidment or termination-related service issues;
seniority and service-record disputes; and
rejection of statutory complaints or other final service orders.

The statutory source should always be identified precisely. AFT pleadings are stronger when the impugned decision is tied to the exact service rule, policy, regulation, entitlement provision or statutory safeguard said to have been violated.

2. Court-Martial Appeals Under Section 15

Section 15 of the AFT Act gives the Tribunal appellate jurisdiction over an order, decision, finding or sentence passed by a court martial or a matter connected with it. The Tribunal also has statutory powers relating to bail for a person accused of an offence and in military custody, subject to the limits in the Act.

A court-martial appeal may raise issues such as:

lack or excess of jurisdiction;
illegal convening or composition;
defective charge framing;
violation of mandatory Army, Navy or Air Force procedure;
denial of fair opportunity or representation;
material evidentiary error;
finding not legally sustainable on the record;
material irregularity causing miscarriage of justice; or
illegal, excessive or disproportionate sentence.

For the wider trial framework, see Court Martial in India: Army Act Procedure, Types, AFT Appeal & Legal Rights.

Original Application Before the AFT Principal Bench

A service challenge is commonly brought as an Original Application (OA). The OA should not be treated as a simple representation rewritten in legal language. It should identify the applicant, respondents, jurisdiction, material facts, final departmental order, limitation position, legal grounds, documents relied upon and precise relief sought.

A well-prepared OA ordinarily includes:

cause title and correct respondent authorities;
jurisdiction paragraph explaining why the Principal Bench is competent;
brief service particulars;
chronological statement of facts;
details of representations, complaints or appeals already made;
date and contents of the impugned final order;
limitation paragraph;
separately numbered legal grounds;
interim relief, where genuinely required;
final relief and consequential relief;
affidavit; and
properly indexed and legible annexures.

Exhaustion of Remedies: Section 21 AFT Act

Section 21 is one of the first maintainability provisions that should be checked before filing. The Act requires exhaustion of the remedies available under the relevant Service Act and Rules before an application is ordinarily admitted.

This makes the departmental stage strategically important. Depending on the type of dispute, the applicant may first need to pursue a statutory complaint, appeal, petition, representation or other prescribed remedy. A premature OA can attract an objection that the internal statutory mechanism was not completed.

Before drafting the OA, prepare a simple exhaustion chart:

What was the original adverse decision?
What departmental remedy was legally available?
When was it filed?
Was a final order passed?
If no order was passed, how much time has elapsed?
Is the document proving exhaustion annexed?

This is particularly important in promotion, ACR/APAR, administrative and statutory-complaint matters.

Limitation Before the AFT: Section 22

Section 22 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act governs limitation for applications. The limitation calculation must be made from the actual statutory trigger applicable to the case, including the final order or the circumstances in which departmental remedies are treated as exhausted.

For service OAs, the common six-month framework under Sections 21 and 22 must be applied to the exact procedural history. Delay may be capable of condonation where sufficient cause is shown, but a condonation application should explain the delay factually and document it where possible.

Do not assume that every military case has the same limitation rule. Court-martial appeals, service Original Applications and further appeals from AFT orders should each be checked under the specific statutory and procedural provisions governing that remedy.

Disability Pension OA Before AFT Delhi

Disability pension disputes are among the most document-intensive AFT matters. The central dispute may concern entitlement, percentage assessment, attributability, aggravation, broad-banding, invalidment, medical categorisation or the reasons given by the Medical Board and pension authorities.

A disability-pension OA may require examination of:

entry medical examination;
service medical record;
hospitalisation records;
Invaliding Medical Board or Release Medical Board proceedings;
AFMSF forms and medical opinions;
service profile, postings and operational/stress history where legally relevant;
disability percentage and duration;
attributability/aggravation finding;
PPO or rejection communication;
first and second appeal decisions, where applicable; and
applicable Entitlement Rules, Pension Regulations and medical guidance.

A strong pleading should directly answer the medical board’s reasoning instead of merely asserting that military service was stressful.

Court-Martial Appeal Filing Before AFT

A court-martial appeal should be built from the record of proceedings. The appellate challenge should separate jurisdictional error, procedural illegality, evidentiary error and sentence challenge.

Important documents can include:

charge sheet;
hearing-of-charge and pre-trial record where relevant;
summary of evidence;
convening order;
record of trial;
prosecution and defence exhibits;
objections and rulings;
finding and sentence;
confirmation or revision documents;
post-trial statutory petition; and
order passed on the post-trial remedy.

The AFT Act expressly recognises appeals where the finding is legally unsustainable, involves a wrong decision on a question of law, or where a material irregularity has resulted in miscarriage of justice.

Can the AFT Grant Interim Relief?

Yes, but interim relief must satisfy the statutory framework, including Section 26 of the AFT Act. The prayer should be specific and linked to the urgency actually shown by the record.

Examples may include a request concerning:

imminent discharge or implementation of an impugned order;
selection-board or promotion consequences;
custody or sentence issues in a court-martial matter;
preservation of records; or
other irreversible prejudice pending adjudication.

Interim relief should not be drafted as a miniature version of the final relief. The application should explain what will happen before final hearing if protection is not granted.

Documents to Collect Before Filing at the Principal Bench

The exact document set depends on the case, but a practical AFT filing bundle may require:

impugned order;
service particulars and identity details;
appointment/enrolment/commission or retirement documents where relevant;
discharge book or retirement order;
PPO and corrigendum PPO;
medical-board proceedings;
statutory complaints, appeals and representations;
proof of dispatch and receipt;
rejection orders;
ACR/APAR extracts or selection documents where available;
relevant policies, regulations and circulars;
court-martial record in appellate matters;
documents supporting limitation/condonation; and
a date-wise chronology.

Before filing, compare every factual assertion in the OA with the annexures. Dates, ranks, service numbers, medical categories, percentages and order numbers should be internally consistent.

How to Prepare an AFT Chronology

A military-service chronology should be short enough to assist the Bench but detailed enough to show the legal sequence. A useful structure is:

entry into service;
material posting, promotion, medical event or disciplinary event;
first adverse decision;
departmental complaint/appeal;
final decision or expiry of the statutory waiting period;
date cause of action became ripe for AFT filing; and
filing date and any delay explanation.

In disability matters, add medical-category changes, diagnosis dates, hospital admissions, Medical Board dates and appeal decisions. In court-martial matters, use the disciplinary chronology from complaint through confirmation and post-trial petition.

Common AFT Filing Mistakes

Wrong Bench: assuming Delhi jurisdiction without analysing territorial allocation.
Premature filing: ignoring Section 21 exhaustion requirements.
Weak limitation pleading: giving dates without explaining the statutory trigger.
Wrong respondents: omitting the authority whose decision must actually be implemented.
Missing final order: challenging a grievance without annexing the operative decision.
Unstructured grounds: mixing facts, argument and relief into one narrative.
Medical conclusions without record: asserting attributability without confronting the Medical Board’s reasoning.
Incomplete court-martial record: appealing conviction without the procedural documents necessary to establish the alleged illegality.
Vague relief: asking the Tribunal to “do justice” instead of seeking executable relief.

AFT Principal Bench and the Delhi High Court

The Armed Forces Tribunal Act contains the statutory appeal framework to the Supreme Court under Sections 30 to 32. Questions concerning constitutional judicial review of AFT orders also require analysis of the controlling Supreme Court jurisprudence and the facts of the particular case. The correct post-AFT remedy should therefore be assessed from the nature of the order, issue raised, territorial jurisdiction and statutory route rather than from a blanket assumption that every AFT order follows the same appellate path.

Official AFT Resources to Check Before Filing

The Principal Bench website provides current institutional information including cause lists, daily orders, forms, calendars, contact information and jurisdiction material. Before physical or procedural filing steps, verify the current requirements from the official AFT website.

The statutory foundation is available from India Code – Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the AFT Principal Bench in Delhi?

The official AFT website lists the Principal Bench at West Block – VIII, opposite Mohan Singh Market, Sector I, R.K. Puram, New Delhi – 110066.

Can every Armed Forces matter be filed at the Principal Bench?

No. Subject-matter jurisdiction and territorial jurisdiction must both be checked. Regional Bench allocations and the cause of action may affect the correct forum.

What is an OA before the AFT?

An Original Application is the usual form of proceeding for a service matter under Section 14 of the AFT Act, subject to maintainability, exhaustion, limitation and applicable procedural rules.

Must departmental remedies be exhausted before filing?

Section 21 generally requires exhaustion of available remedies under the applicable Service Act and Rules before an application is admitted, subject to the statutory framework.

Can disability pension rejection be challenged before the AFT?

Yes, where the matter falls within AFT jurisdiction and the applicant satisfies the procedural requirements. The medical record, entitlement rules, appeal orders and limitation position are central to such cases.

Can a court-martial conviction be appealed to the AFT?

Yes. Section 15 of the AFT Act gives the Tribunal appellate jurisdiction over orders, decisions, findings and sentences passed by courts martial.

Key Takeaways

The Principal Bench is located at R.K. Puram, New Delhi.
Delhi location alone does not establish AFT Principal Bench jurisdiction.
Section 14 governs service-matter jurisdiction and Section 15 governs court-martial appeals.
Section 21 exhaustion of remedies should be checked before filing a service OA.
Section 22 limitation must be calculated from the exact procedural history.
Disability-pension and court-martial cases require different document sets and legal strategies.
Current filing forms and Registry requirements should be checked on the official AFT website before filing.

Disclaimer

This article is for general legal awareness and educational purposes only. It is not an advertisement, solicitation, invitation or inducement for professional engagement and does not create an advocate-client relationship. AFT jurisdiction, limitation, exhaustion requirements and filing procedure depend on the applicable Service Act, rules, territorial allocation, impugned order and facts of each case.

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