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Section 33 of AFT Act 2007 - Exclusion of Civil Court Jurisdiction

Section 33 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 excludes the jurisdiction of civil courts in relation to service matters for which jurisdiction, powers and authority have become exercisable by the Armed Forces Tribunal under the Act.

Updated: September 7, 2026

In brief: Once the Armed Forces Tribunal is empowered under the Act to exercise jurisdiction over a service matter, a civil court cannot exercise that same jurisdiction, power or authority in relation to that service matter.

What does exclusion of civil court jurisdiction mean?

Exclusion of jurisdiction means that an ordinary civil court is not entitled to decide a service matter to the extent that the Armed Forces Tribunal has been given jurisdiction, powers and authority over that matter by the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.

The scope of Section 33 is therefore linked to the jurisdiction actually conferred on the Tribunal. For service matters, that jurisdiction is principally described in Section 14 of the Act.

Section 33 - Exclusion of jurisdiction of civil courts

Section 33: On and from the date from which any jurisdiction, powers and authority becomes exercisable by the Tribunal in relation to service matters under this Act, no civil court shall have, or be entitled to exercise, such jurisdiction, power or authority in relation to those service matters.

How Section 33 works with Section 14

Section 14 deals with the Tribunal's jurisdiction, powers and authority in service matters. It provides, subject to the Act, that the Tribunal exercises the jurisdiction, powers and authority that were exercisable immediately before the appointed day by courts in relation to service matters, while expressly excepting the Supreme Court and a High Court exercising jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

Important: Section 33 is directed at civil court jurisdiction in service matters falling within the Tribunal's statutory field. It should not be read as wording that itself abolishes the constitutional jurisdiction expressly preserved in Section 14(1).

Scope of the exclusion under Section 33

Question	Effect of Section 33
Which courts are expressly referred to?	Civil courts.
Which matters are covered?	Service matters in relation to which jurisdiction, powers and authority have become exercisable by the Tribunal under the Act.
When does the exclusion operate?	From the date on which the relevant Tribunal jurisdiction, powers and authority become exercisable.
Does Section 33 use an unlimited exclusion formula?	No. Its text ties the exclusion to the same jurisdiction, power or authority exercisable by the Tribunal in relation to those service matters.

What are "service matters" under the AFT Act?

The expression "service matters" is defined in Section 3 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007. In broad terms, it concerns matters relating to conditions of service of persons subject to the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957 and the Air Force Act, 1950, subject to the inclusions and exclusions stated in the statutory definition.

Because Section 33 specifically uses the expression "service matters," the statutory definition and the jurisdiction provision in Section 14 are important when determining whether a particular dispute falls within the exclusion.

Related statutory provisions

Section 33 should be read in the wider structure of the Act. Section 34 deals with transfer of pending cases, while Section 39 gives the Act overriding effect in the circumstances stated there.

Official legal resources

Related AFT Act provisions

See Section 32 - Condonation, Section 34 - Transfer of pending cases, and Section 39 - Act to have overriding effect. The wider statutory structure is available on the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 page.

This page is an informational presentation of Section 33. Whether a particular proceeding is barred depends on the nature of the dispute, the statutory definition of service matters, the jurisdiction conferred on the Tribunal, and applicable binding judicial decisions.