KOCHI: Cases are piling up at the Armed Forces Tribunal’s Kochi bench as the two-member regional bench has been lying vacant for nearly two years now. AFT deals with petitions on pensions and other service matters of defence personnel and covers Kerala, Karnataka and Lakshadweep regions. “We are ensuring that the sittings take place in Kochi bench by getting members from Chennai or Mumbai based on their availability. In June-end we held a sitting of ART, Kochi,” said an officer, when contacted.
The ART bench comprises two members -- a sitting judge and a retired military officer. The AFT officer told Express that a notification has been issued for the appointment of the members for the Kochi bench. “The last date for the application is September 16. We hope that the new members will be appointed by October,” he said.
A widow who has not been getting her defence pension for several years now due to a dispute, said she had approached the authorities and the case was referred to the AFT. “Because there are no judges to hear the case, and the AFT is not functioning properly, she is not getting justice. Delayed justice is injustice,” said a person, who is assisting the widows. Though the exact number of cases pending at AFT is not known, officials said there could be at least 700-1,000 cases.