Army Rule 51 allows an accused, before pleading to the charge, to offer a special plea to the general jurisdiction of the Court-Martial. If the Court considers that the plea shows lack of jurisdiction, it must receive evidence in support of the plea, evidence from the prosecution in disproof or qualification, and hear addresses from...
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A NANA opinion means the medical or adjudicating authority has treated the disability as Neither Attributable Nor Aggravated by military service. In disability pension cases, a NANA finding can be challenged where the medical board gives no proper reasons, ignores service conditions, disregards the presumption of fitness at enrolment, contradicts earlier medical categorisation, fails to...
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Army Rule 37 deals with the convening of General and District Courts-Martial. Before convening a General or District Court-Martial, the competent officer must first satisfy himself that the charges are offences within the meaning of the Army Act and that the evidence justifies a trial on those charges. If he is not so satisfied, he...
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Army Rule 24 deals with the remand of accused after the Summary of Evidence is recorded under Army Rule 23. The Summary of Evidence must be considered by the Commanding Officer, who then has three broad options: remand the accused for trial by court martial, refer the case to the proper superior military authority, or,...
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In Union of India v. Mohanraj TK, the Kerala High Court dismissed the Union of India’s writ petition challenging the Armed Forces Tribunal, Kochi’s order granting disability pension-related relief to a retired Subedar Major/Honorary Captain. The Court held that where no disease was recorded at the time of enrolment, the soldier is entitled to statutory...
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Army Rule 180 protects a person subject to the Army Act when a Court of Inquiry affects his character or military reputation. In such a case, the affected person must be given full opportunity to remain present throughout the inquiry, make a statement, give evidence, cross-examine witnesses whose evidence affects his character or military reputation,...
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Disability pension for Armed Forces personnel is payable where a disability is attributable to or aggravated by military service and satisfies the applicable pensionary rules. In many cases, if no disease or disability was noted at the time of enrolment/commissioning, and the disability arose during service, courts have applied a presumption in favour of the...
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In Union of India through its Secretary v. Sgt Girish Kumar and Others, 2026 INSC 149, decided on 12 February 2026, the Supreme Court held that arrears arising from broad-banding of disability pension cannot be restricted to only three years before filing an Original Application before the Armed Forces Tribunal. The Court held that disability...
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Disability pension for Armed Forces personnel is payable where a disability is attributable to or aggravated by military service and is accepted in accordance with the applicable Pension Regulations and Entitlement Rules. It ordinarily consists of two components: service element and disability element. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that, where no disease or disability...
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The Armed Forces Tribunal is a specialised statutory forum for service disputes and court-martial appeals concerning Army, Navy and Air Force personnel. The Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal is situated at New Delhi and deals with matters including disability pension, service benefits, promotion, ACR disputes, disciplinary action and court-martial appeals. The AFT functions...
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