Lt. Col. Sandeep Kumar v. Union Of India & Ors.

Service upon Respondent No. 5 (Mrs. Smriti Varma) is complete. She, however, has not come present.

2. Learned counsel for Respondent Nos. 1 to 4 has raised a preliminary objection vis-à-vis the maintainability of the instant O.A impugning the order dated 16.11.2015, whereby the applicant has been directed to pay maintenance to his wife (Respondent No. 5) stating that since there is an alternative remedy available to the applicant under Section 27 of the Army Act, 1950 (for short, Act of 1950) to project his grievance against the impugned order in terms of Section 21 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, the instant application shall not be maintainable. In support of his contentions, learned counsel has relied upon the order dated 21.10.2016 in O.A No. 259 of 2016 (Maj. Anant Phogat v. Union of India), wherein also, after the admission of the O.A, preliminary objection was raised by the respondents with regard to the maintainability of the said petition taking the same plea and ultimately, the Co-ordinate Bench dismissed the said O.A on that ground along with other grounds, which we find are not relevant for the consideration of the instant O.A

3. Faced with this situation, Mr. Pandey, learned counsel for the applicant, fairly states that the instant O.A filed by the applicant may be treated as a representation under Section 27 of the Act of 1950 before the competent authority for redressal of the grievances on the grounds carved out therein, to which learned counsel for Respondents 1 to 4 has no objection.

4. In view of the above, while dismissing the instant O.A on the ground of its maintainability, we direct that the same be treated as a representation under Section 27 of the Act of 1950 on behalf of the applicant impugning the order dated 16.11.2015 Let it be decided by the competent authority at the earliest, preferably within three months from the date, copy of the order is made available to it, undoubtedly by a reasoned order.

5. Responsibility of conveying the order to the competent authority will be of learned counsel for the respondents, Order be handed over to him dasti during the course of the day, under the signature and seal of the Tribunal Officer.