Arpit Sangwan vs Union Of India & Ors

Headnote AI-drafted · Reviewed and approved

The petitioner, an aspirant for enrolment in the Indian Army through the National Defence Academy Common Examination, filed a writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India seeking a direction to appoint/enrol him on the basis of his merit position by treating him as medically fit. The petitioner contended that even if he was not medically fit for some of his stated choices, there was no restriction on his recruitment in the Indian Army as per his submitted choices.

The Court raised the question of maintainability of the writ petition in view of the statutory remedy available to the petitioner before the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) under Section 14 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007. The petitioner's counsel argued that since fundamental rights were affected, the Court ought to entertain the petition despite the alternative remedy. The Court, having considered the provisions of Section 3(o) and Section 14 of the Act, held that matters relating to appointment and enrolment in the Armed Forces fall squarely within the definition of 'service matters' under the Act and are amenable to the jurisdiction of the AFT.

The Court dismissed the writ petition holding that no extraordinary circumstance existed to warrant the exercise of writ jurisdiction when an equally efficacious remedy was available before the AFT, whose Principal Bench is located in Delhi itself. The petitioner was left at liberty to approach the Armed Forces Tribunal for redressal of his grievances.

Catchwords: writ petition · Armed Forces · enrolment · medical fitness · National Defence Academy · Armed Forces Tribunal · alternative remedy · service matters · maintainability · Articles 226 and 227