Section 15 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007: Appeals Against Court Martial

Section 15 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 gives the Armed Forces Tribunal appellate jurisdiction over orders, decisions, findings and sentences passed by a court martial, together with matters connected with or incidental to those proceedings. It also gives the Tribunal important powers relating to bail, conviction, sentence, parole and suspension of imprisonment.

Current-law note: Section 15 remains part of the current AFT Act. Sub-section (7) still textually refers to specified provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. The enacted wording of Section 15 should therefore be preserved accurately while the current general criminal-law framework is separately considered.

What does Section 15 of the AFT Act provide?

Section 15(1): The Tribunal exercises jurisdiction, powers and authority in appeals against any order, decision, finding or sentence passed by a court martial and in connected or incidental matters.

Section 15(2): A person aggrieved by an order, decision, finding or sentence of a court martial may prefer an appeal in the prescribed form, manner and time.

Section 15(3): The Tribunal may grant bail to a person accused of an offence and in military custody, subject to conditions it considers necessary and the statutory restriction relating to offences punishable with death or life imprisonment.

Sections 15(4) and 15(5): The Tribunal may allow an appeal against conviction where statutory grounds are made out and pass an appropriate order.

Section 15(6): The Tribunal has extensive powers to substitute findings, modify or enhance sentence, order parole, suspend imprisonment and pass other appropriate orders.

Who can appeal against a court martial?

Section 15(2) permits any person aggrieved by an order, decision, finding or sentence passed by a court martial to prefer an appeal to the Armed Forces Tribunal. The procedural requirements are governed by the AFT Act and the Armed Forces Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2008, as amended.

The official Procedure Rules define an "applicant" to include a person filing an appeal under Section 15(2), and they regulate filing, presentation and supporting documents before the Tribunal.

When must the Tribunal allow an appeal against conviction?

Ground under Section 15(4)	Meaning
Finding legally unsustainable	The court-martial finding cannot be sustained in law for any reason.
Wrong decision on law	The finding involves an incorrect decision on a question of law.
Material irregularity causing miscarriage of justice	A material irregularity occurred during trial and resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

In other cases, the Tribunal may dismiss the appeal where it considers that no miscarriage of justice is likely to be caused or has actually resulted. A dismissal order must record reasons in writing.

Bail powers of the AFT under Section 15(3)

Section 15(3) empowers the Tribunal to grant bail, with or without conditions, to a person accused of an offence who is in military custody. The proviso restricts release where there appears to be reasonable ground for believing that the accused has been guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life.

What can the AFT do with a court-martial sentence?

Section 15(6) gives the Tribunal a broad set of appellate powers. Depending on the case, the Tribunal may:

Substitute a lawful finding of guilt for another offence for which the offender could have been convicted by the court martial and impose a fresh sentence.
Remit the whole or part of a sentence, with or without conditions.
Mitigate the punishment.
Commute the punishment to a lesser punishment permitted under the Army Act, Navy Act or Air Force Act, as applicable.
Enhance the sentence, but only after giving the appellant an opportunity of being heard.
Release an appellant sentenced to imprisonment on parole, with or without conditions.
Suspend a sentence of imprisonment.
Pass any other order it considers appropriate.

When is the AFT deemed to be a criminal court?

Section 15(7) provides that, for the purposes of Section 15, the Tribunal is deemed to be a criminal court for the specified IPC provisions named in the statute and for Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Because the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 are now in force as the general central criminal-law codes, practitioners should read the enacted cross-reference together with the relevant repeal, saving and interpretation provisions of the new laws and any later statutory amendment or authoritative judicial interpretation.

How does Section 15 relate to re-trial?

Section 16 - Re-trial deals with the circumstances in which a person whose conviction has been quashed may be retried. Section 15 should therefore be read together with Section 16 where an appeal succeeds and the question of a fresh court martial arises.

Additional appellate powers under Section 17

Section 17 - Powers of the Tribunal on appeal under Section 15 supplements the appellate framework. Accordingly, the full scope of the Tribunal's powers in a court-martial appeal should be assessed by reading Sections 15, 16 and 17 together.

Further appeal from the AFT

Chapter V of the AFT Act contains provisions for appeal to the Supreme Court. Sections 30 to 32 deal with appeal, leave to appeal and condonation of delay. These provisions operate separately from the original court-martial appeal filed before the AFT under Section 15.

Key points about Section 15

Section 15 is the principal AFT provision for appeals arising from court martial proceedings.
An aggrieved person may appeal against an order, decision, finding or sentence of a court martial.
The Tribunal may grant bail in military-custody cases, subject to the statutory restriction in serious offences.
The Tribunal must allow an appeal where the conviction is legally unsustainable, involves a wrong decision on law, or a material trial irregularity has caused miscarriage of justice.
The Tribunal may remit, mitigate, commute or enhance sentence, subject to the safeguards in the Act.
It may grant parole, suspend imprisonment and make other appropriate orders.
Enhancement of sentence requires an opportunity of being heard.
Section 15(7)'s IPC and CrPC cross-references should be read in the current post-1 July 2024 criminal-law context.

Section 15 should be read with Section 14 - Service-matter jurisdiction, Section 16 - Re-trial, Section 17 - Powers on appeal, Section 18 - Cost, and Section 19 - Contempt.

Official legal resources

Law reviewed and article updated: 7 September 2026.