Case Title:- S.K. JAIN vs. UNION OF INDIA & ANR.
Citation:- 2025 INSC 1215
Date:- 10.10.2025
Hon’ble Supreme Court Bench :- JUSTICE J.B. PARDIWALA & JUSTICE ALOK ARADHE.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court observed that the Armed Forces Tribunal (“AFT”) under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 (“Act”) is empowered to substitute the findings of the Court Martial if its findings were excessive, illegal or unjust.
- The decision relies on Section 15(6)(a) & (b) of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, which gives AFT the power to substitute Court Martial findings and modify punishments.
- In this case, the appellant, a Commandant of a vehicle depot, was accused of corruption, illegal possession of ammunition, and unexplained cash in 2008. A General Court Martial in 2009 found him guilty of corruption and ammunition possession and dismissed him from service.
- In 2012, the AFT acquitted him of corruption due to insufficient evidence, but found him guilty of acts prejudicial to discipline under Section 63 of the Army Act. It reduced his punishment from dismissal to compulsory retirement, allowing him to retain pension benefits. Challenging the AFT’s substitution of the conviction, the Appellant moved to the Supreme Court, arguing that it was beyond the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
- The Hon’ble Court noted that AFT acted within its legal powers. It compared Section 15(6) of the Act to Section 222 of CrPC, which allows conviction for a lesser or related offence based on the same facts. The Hon’ble Court noted that “Section 15(6) of the 2007 Act is in pari materia with Section 162 of the 1950 Act and is akin to Section 222 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 which permits conviction for a lesser or cognate offence on the same set of facts.”
- The Hon’ble Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, confirming that the AFT was justified in modifying the Court Martial order.
