Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 15: High Court upheld the constitutional validity of Rule 147-A of the Army Rules 1954, and dismissed the plea that the delinquent officials were not supplied with the proceedings of the court martial.
The Rule 147-A restricts issuance of certified copies of court martial proceedings where these are held to be against the interests of national security or friendly relations with foreign states.
The Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar upheld the validity of the Rule under challenge. The aggrieved petitioners had assailed the tribunal’s April 23 order dismissing their appeal against conviction by Summary General Court Martial on the ground that the same was not accompanied by a certified copy of the conviction order.
The court said that the “question that arises for determination is whether Section 147-A which prima facie tramples the right of a person to fair trial and take recourse to appropriate legal proceedings and, thus, offends Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India is saved by Article 33 of the Constitution of India”.
The Government of India defended the provision of Army Rules, with the contention that the Central Government had certified that supplying the proceedings would be against national security interests and, therefore, copies were legitimately withheld.
The court, after examining the provisions, observed that the Army Rules, framed under Section 191 of the Army Act, have the force of law and are therefore protected under Article 33 of the constitution.
However, the High Court found fault with the Armed Forces Tribunal for dismissing the petitioners’ appeal solely for want of certified copies despite the fact that copies had been denied under Rule 147-A itself.
The Tribunal, court added, ought to have summoned the court martial records in a sealed cover and examined the appeal on merits instead of rejecting it on technical grounds.
With these observations the court set aside the Tribunal’s order and restored the petitioners’ appeal and directed the Tribunal to hear the matter afresh after summoning the Summary General Court Martial record.
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