MoD Seeks to Empower Tri-Service Commanders with New Disciplinary Powers

Currently, members of the Air Force, Army, and Navy are regulated by separate acts that pertain to each individual service, namely, the Air Force Act of 1950, the Army Act of 1950, and the Navy Act of 1957. As per these acts, officers can solely exert disciplinary authority over members belonging to their respective service.

The newly proposed bill, presented by the Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt in the Lok Sabha, aims to modify the current scenario. If passed, the bill would grant the commander-in-chief or officer-in-command of an inter-services organisation the power to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction over personnel from any service who are serving under or attached to "their" command.

It is noteworthy that the bill employs the pronoun "his" while referring to commanding officers, instead of adopting gender-neutral language, despite the armed forces now permitting women to undertake leadership positions.

As per the bill, the current limitations on disciplinary powers have a significant effect on the command, control, and discipline of inter-services organisations, including the Andaman and Nicobar Command, which was established in 2001 to promote tri-service synergy, as well as the Defence Space Agency. Additionally, the bill highlights the impact on joint training institutions, such as the National Defence Academy and the National Defence College.

The reason for this is that the commanders-in-chief or officers-in-command of such organisations do not possess the authority to exercise disciplinary or administrative jurisdiction over personnel from other services.

As a consequence, members serving in inter-services organisations must be repatriated to their respective parent service units for any disciplinary or administrative measures. According to the bill, this process is not only arduous, but also entails financial consequences concerning the transportation of personnel.

The situation becomes even more intricate when disciplinary or administrative proceedings arise from identical sets of events and circumstances, but involve members belonging to different services, making it all the more cumbersome, the bill further asserts.

In such a scenario, it is imperative to initiate numerous proceedings under the corresponding service acts. The bill states that this hinders the prompt resolution of cases, ultimately impacting the level of discipline.