Kerala - Kochi   

Anniversary of Kochi bench of AFT observed

Kochi: The establishment of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) is a new chapter in the history of Indian Judiciary, K. Padmanabhan Nair, former judge of the Kerala High Court and judicial member of AFT's regional bench at Kochi, has said.

Inaugurating the first anniversary celebrations of the regional bench of AFT with jurisdiction over Kerala, Karnataka and Lakshadweep, Mr. Nair said that the bench was able to settle many cases in the very first year of its existence. “Though the tribunal is situated (at Bristow House) in Fort Kochi, far away from the High Court, advocates have shown interest in the conduct of the cases here…. The tribunal hears appeals against court martials and service cases of defence personnel,” he said.

Lt. General (retd) Thomas Mathew, administrative member of the regional bench, who presided over the function, said that the setting up of the tribunal had helped settle cases without delay. He hoped that the directives and judgements of the tribunal would change the outlook and functioning of defence establishments such as Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) and Records department.

M. V. Thampan, advocate, welcomed the gathering and S. Krishnamoorthy, advocate, proposed a vote of thanks.

Set up on December 7, 2009, the Kochi bench of the tribunal—one of its eight regional benches—received eligible cases under the three military acts which had been pending at various High Courts since 1995. Most of these cases were disposed of in its first year itself. In the meantime, quite a number of new cases were also filed by armed forces personnel, ex-servicemen or their dependents.

Over the past year, the bench passed many landmark judgements. In one such judgement, it urged the Centre to evolve a scheme for the rehabilitation of soldiers discharged on ground of mental illness. It asked the government to provide them ex-gratia monthly payment and medical assistance. The matter is now being considered by the government.

In another verdict, it asked the government to reconsider grant of financial assistance to World War veterans.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

South Africa keen on partnerships: envoy
Court declines to suspend sentence
Heavy maintenance of roads in phased manner
Journalist finds fault with modern media
‘Support price inadequate'
Campaign to re-educate school dropouts
Bamboo fest from Thursday
Anniversary of Kochi bench of AFT observed
Three held for pilfering oil
Case against former TV anchor
Seminar
Directive to step up vigil on CRZ violations
Kochi Today

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu