Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calls for timely justice delivery by armed forces tribunals

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday pitched for ensuring timely delivery of justice to armed forces personnel under the framework of military tribunals, but at the same time cautioned against the challenge of "justice hurried is justice buried'. "We often talk of 'justice delayed is justice denied'. We should try to ensure timely justice delivery to our charter by developing a systematic procedure," Singh said at a seminar on the armed forces tribunals.

"However, we also need to be very careful while doing this. Otherwise, there is also a danger of 'justice hurried is justice buried. In such a situation, keeping a balance between time and procedure is an important demand of today's time," he added.

The defence minister also highlighted the contributions of lawyers to India's freedom struggle.

"Be it Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, C Rajagopalachari, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dr Rajendra Prasad, S Srinivasa Iyengar, Sardar Patel or Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, there are not one but many names, without whose contribution our India would not have been India it is today," Singh said.

The defence minister also complimented efforts by the armed forces tribunals to improve their overall functioning.

He said the government is committed and constantly striving to make it more responsive to the purposes for which it was established.

"Armed forces tribunals have played a vital role in fulfilling legitimate aspirations of serving soldiers and ex-servicemen," Singh said.

The defence minister exuded confidence that the armed forces tribunal will bring about changes in their functioning and that preparation for it has to start now.