Govt filled Armed Forces Tribunal posts but didn’t consider the members’ usefulness criteria

The Narendra Modi government has approved the appointment of 11 judicial and 12 administrative members in the Armed Forces Tribunal on 15 November. The approval derives its powers and procedures from the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 passed by both the Houses of Parliament in August 2021.

The Bill, part of a broader ongoing tussle between the judiciary and the executive/legislature, is being contested in the Supreme Court. In essence, the issue is about the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. At its core, it is about the institutional control of the various tribunals that have been established to relieve the high courts of the heavy burden cast on them by large numbers of pending cases. However, the focus here is on the AFT in the context of the larger tussle.