Overview
- A full bench led by Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya asked if the Armed Forces Tribunal can assess the constitutional validity of statutes beyond the AFT Act, including Section 9 of the Navy Act.
- The court appointed senior advocate Gautam Narayan as amicus and fixed November 28 for the next hearing after an October 17 order.
- Petitioner Sabi Giri seeks to set aside her 2017 discharge, reinstatement, a policy on transgender recruitment and service conditions, and a declaration that Section 9 is unconstitutional.
- Government counsel argues the petition is not maintainable, asserting the AFT’s competence and maintaining that Giri was discharged for misconduct, citing appearance rule violations and an unnotified surgery.
- The reference also asks whether the Neelam Chahar precedent empowers the AFT to rule on other laws’ validity and if such an interpretation extends to tribunals outside Articles 323A and 323B, as Giri alleges unlawful psychiatric confinement and repeated medical examinations.