Core practice: Armed Forces Tribunal original applications, court-martial defence and appeals, Court of Inquiry and Army Rule 180 issues, statutory complaints, disability pension, medical-board disputes, promotion and seniority, discharge and termination, pay and allowances, pension implementation and consequential relief.
Military-law practice
Representation across the military justice and service-law lifecycle
Military-law disputes are governed by specialised statutes, rules, service instructions, pension regulations and tribunal procedure. The effective legal strategy depends on the client’s service status, the stage of proceedings, the controlling record, the remedy already invoked and the relief that the competent forum can lawfully grant.
Court-Martial Defence
Pre-trial review, charge analysis, jurisdictional objections, evidence, cross-examination, defence witnesses and trial strategy in GCM, DCM, SCM and SGCM proceedings.
Court-Martial Appeals Before AFT
Appeals under Section 15 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act involving findings, sentence, confirmation, procedural illegality, evidentiary error and proportionality.
Court of Inquiry & Rule 180
Chronology, witness record, participation rights, cross-examination, documentary access, preservation of objections and downstream disciplinary consequences.
Disability Pension
Release and Invaliding Medical Board analysis, attributability and aggravation, NANA findings, disability percentage, broad-banding, arrears and implementation.
Statutory Complaints
Service-grievance drafting, selection of grounds, document compilation, relief formulation and preparation for subsequent AFT proceedings.
Military Service Matters
Promotion and supersession, ACR/APAR disputes, discharge, termination, seniority, pay, allowances, pension, service records and consequential benefits.
Who we represent
Army, Navy and Air Force matters
The practice addresses matters governed by the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957, the Air Force Act, 1950, their applicable rules and regulations, and the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.
Representation may involve serving officers, JCOs, other ranks, airmen, sailors, veterans and eligible family members, subject to jurisdiction, maintainability and the individual record.
Forum strategy
AFT, High Court and Supreme Court
The appropriate forum cannot be selected by label alone. The nature of the impugned action, statutory remedy, stage of proceedings, limitation, territorial connection and governing precedent must be examined first.
Where an AFT order is challenged, the statutory appellate scheme and constitutional remedies require careful forum-specific analysis.
Armed Forces Tribunal
What the AFT does
The Armed Forces Tribunal is a specialised statutory forum constituted under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007. Broadly, Section 14 concerns original jurisdiction in service matters, while Section 15 confers appellate jurisdiction in relation to court-martial orders, findings and sentences. The precise scope of a “service matter” and the maintainability of an application must be tested against the Act and the facts.
The Tribunal deals with disputes involving commission, appointment, enrolment and conditions of service of persons subject to the service enactments, subject to statutory inclusions and exclusions. It also exercises appellate powers in court-martial matters. The AFT is therefore not merely a pension forum: it is central to military service litigation and military criminal appellate work.
Important: Exhaustion of available departmental remedies, limitation under Section 22, condonation of delay, territorial jurisdiction, proper parties and production of the complete record can determine whether the matter is heard on merits. These questions should be addressed before drafting the Original Application or appeal.
Primary statutory reference: Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 on India Code.
Typical AFT service matters
Selection-board results, comparative assessment, ACR/APAR issues, value judgments, review boards and consequential seniority.
Discharge orders, compulsory retirement, withdrawal of commission, dismissal, removal and procedural safeguards.
Incorrect fixation, recovery, military service pay, special allowances, arrears and implementation of policy or judicial directions.
Service pension, disability benefits, family pension, OROP-related implementation and correction of pension records.
Medical-board procedure, employability, permanent/temporary category, invalidment and service consequences.
Show-cause notices, censures, administrative termination, Court of Inquiry consequences and statutory complaints.
Court-martial defence
The disciplinary chain must be examined as one record
A court-martial case is rarely confined to the evidence recorded at trial. The legality and defence strategy may begin much earlier—with the Court of Inquiry, Army Rule 180 proceedings, hearing of charge, Summary of Evidence, remand decision, convening authority’s satisfaction, charge-sheet, composition of the court and pleas raised before trial.
Court of Inquiry, Rule 180 rights and preservation of objections.
Hearing of charge, accused’s presence, witnesses and decision.
Summary of Evidence, cross-examination and defence material.
Authority, application of mind, charge and composition.
Jurisdiction, pleas, evidence, defence, findings and sentence.
Pre/post-confirmation petitions and appeal before AFT.
Related guides: Army Rule 180, Army Rule 22, Army Rule 24, Army Rule 37 and Army Rule 51.
Disability pension
Medical-board findings must be tested against the service record and entitlement framework
Disability-pension disputes commonly turn on whether a disease or injury is attributable to or aggravated by military service, whether a condition was noted at entry, whether the medical board supplied intelligible reasons, the accepted disability percentage, qualifying service, broad-banding and the effect of discharge or invalidment.
A legally useful review correlates the enrolment/commissioning medical record, service profile, postings, stressors or incidents, treatment chronology, sick reports, specialist opinions, medical categorisation, Release or Invaliding Medical Board proceedings, pension rejection and appeal orders.
Read the Disability Pension GuideCase preparation
A record-first litigation method
Create a dated sequence of service events, representations, proceedings, orders and limitation triggers.
Identify the statutory forum, territorial bench, maintainability, exhaustion of remedies and limitation.
Compare orders, proceedings, service records, medical documents, evidence and contemporaneous objections.
Separate jurisdictional, statutory, procedural, evidentiary, constitutional and proportionality grounds.
Frame reliefs that the forum can grant, including consequential and implementation directions.
Preserve objections, annexures, acknowledgments and proof of service for appellate or judicial review.
Documents ordinarily required for preliminary review
• Impugned order and proof of communication
• Statutory/non-statutory complaint or representation
• Decision on complaint, appeal or representation
• Relevant service record and correspondence
• Medical-board and treatment documents, where applicable
• Court of Inquiry/Rule 180 material, where available
• Hearing of charge and Summary of Evidence
• Charge-sheet, convening order and court-martial record
• Pre-confirmation and post-confirmation petitions
• A short dated chronology and proposed relief
The actual requirement depends on the matter. Confidential or operationally sensitive material should be handled only through an appropriate secure channel and in accordance with applicable law.
Counsel profile
Advocate Govind Bali
Fastrack Legal Solutions LLP’s military-law practice is led by Advocate Govind Bali. The practice encompasses representation and drafting in Armed Forces Tribunal matters, court-martial defence, military service disputes, disability pension claims and connected proceedings before constitutional courts.
The approach combines military procedural analysis with service-law, constitutional, evidentiary and criminal-law principles. Each matter is assessed from the actual record rather than by applying a generic template.
Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench and other competent benches
Delhi High Court
Supreme Court of India
Court-martial proceedings and statutory authorities
Common client questions
Frequently asked questions
What matters can be filed before the Armed Forces Tribunal?
The AFT exercises original jurisdiction over covered service matters and appellate jurisdiction in court-martial matters. Maintainability depends on the statutory definition, exclusions, service status, order challenged and remedies already pursued.
Can serving personnel approach the AFT?
Serving personnel may approach the AFT in maintainable service matters, but the available departmental remedy and the stage of the dispute must ordinarily be examined first.
Must departmental remedies be exhausted before filing?
Section 21 of the AFT Act addresses exhaustion of remedies. Whether the requirement has been met, whether sufficient time has elapsed and whether exceptional circumstances exist must be assessed from the record.
What is the limitation period for an AFT case?
Limitation is governed principally by Section 22 of the AFT Act and varies with the nature and procedural history of the matter. Delay may be considered on sufficient cause, but a condonation application must explain the entire relevant period.
Can a court-martial finding or sentence be challenged before the AFT?
Yes. Section 15 confers appellate jurisdiction in court-martial matters. The appeal should be built from the authenticated trial record, petitions, confirmation material, evidentiary objections and the specific relief sought.
Does every violation of Army Rule 180 automatically invalidate later action?
Not automatically. The applicability of Rule 180, the nature of the denial, objections raised, prejudice caused and the connection between the inquiry and later action must be established from the record.
What is important in a disability-pension challenge?
The entry medical record, service conditions, onset and treatment chronology, medical-board reasons, attributability/aggravation findings, assessed percentage, pension rejection and appeal decisions are usually central.
Can an adverse ACR or promotion decision be challenged?
Depending on the facts, challenge may lie against illegality, procedural unfairness, inconsistency, non-consideration of relevant material, improper comparative assessment or violation of applicable policy. Courts and tribunals ordinarily do not substitute their own merit assessment without a recognised legal ground.
Can an AFT order be challenged further?
The available route depends on the nature of the AFT order, the statutory appellate provisions and governing constitutional precedent. Limitation runs quickly, so the certified order and complete record should be reviewed immediately.
Does Fastrack Legal Solutions handle matters outside Delhi?
Military-law matters are handled subject to the competent AFT bench, territorial jurisdiction, procedural requirements and feasibility of representation. The Principal Bench is in New Delhi, while regional benches exercise jurisdiction in their respective territories.
Preliminary review of a military-law matter
Send the impugned order, relevant proceedings and a concise dated chronology through the firm’s contact channel. The first review identifies the forum, limitation position, missing record and the issues requiring detailed legal examination.
This page provides general legal information. It is not solicitation, an assurance of outcome or legal advice for any particular matter. Engagement is subject to conflict checks, document review and applicable professional rules.