Defence Bill in Parliament set to grant disciplinary, administrative powers to inter-services heads

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Aiming to devolve disciplinary and administrative powers to the top of inter-services Organisations (ISO), a parliamentary panel on defence has advisable that the inter-services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, be handed and enacted as a statute, with none amendments.

“In summation, the committee, while agreeing with the provisions of the bill, in no uncertain words recommend that the bill without any amendments be passed, enacted as a statute and the committee’s observations/recommendation be considered,” the Standing Committee on Defence mentioned in its report.

The Panel’s Report (Seventeenth Lok Sabha) on the invoice was offered to Lok Sabha on Friday and likewise laid in Rajya Sabha.

The Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, was launched in Lok Sabha on March 15 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Defence by the Speaker on April 24 for examination and report. It is a major transfer as India has begun the method to re-organise and combine its Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) into theatre instructions.

The restructuring of Military Commands for optimum utilisation of assets by bringing about jointness in operations, together with by way of the institution of joint or theatre instructions wherein the personnel of the three forces will serve collectively.

Currently, personnel of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are ruled in accordance with the provisions contained of their particular governing or regulatory Service Acts — the Army Act, 1950; the Navy Act, 1957; and the Air Force Act, 1950.

“At the time of enactment of these respective Acts, most of the service organisations were largely comprised of personnel from a single service i.e. Either Army, Navy or Air Force. However, now there are numerous inter-services organisations such as Andaman and Nicobar Command, Strategic Forces Command, Defence Space Agency etc. And joint training establishments like National Defence Academy and National Defence College, where personnel of the armed forces and other forces serve together,” the committee added.

Currently, the commander-in-chief or officer-in-command of the inter-services organisations is just not empowered to train disciplinary/administrative powers over the personnel belonging to different providers. Only officers of the respective providers are empowered to train disciplinary powers over the service personnel beneath their respective Service Acts, the report mentioned.

“Accordingly, the officers serving in these organisations need to be reverted to their respective parent service units for exercising any disciplinary or administrative action,” it mentioned.

In view of the above, the Ministry of Defence has proposed to enact new laws that’s the inter-services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023.

“The Bill seeks to empower the commander-in-chief and officer-in-command of inter-services organisations with all disciplinary and administrative powers in respect of personnel serving in or attached to such organisations/establishments,” it mentioned. 

The members of the committee have been mandated to current their report back to Parliament by the final day of the primary week of the following Monsoon session. The session started on July 20 and is scheduled to finish on August 11. 

The committee discovered that “as per the Objects and Reasons of the Bill, the proposed bill will essentially be an enabling legislation, which will empower the heads of the inter-services organisations to exercise effective command, control and discipline on all personnel of regular Air Force, Army and Navy and to persons of other forces as notified by the central government, who are serving in or attached to an inter-services organisation, without amending the respective Acts.”

Service personnel when serving in or connected to an inter-services organisation will “continue to be governed by their respective Service Acts”, it added.

The panel ready this report primarily based on the background transient offered by the Ministry of Defence, the oral examination of the representatives of the ministry held on May 29 and post-evidence replies sought by the committee.

NEW DELHI: Aiming to devolve disciplinary and administrative powers to the top of inter-services Organisations (ISO), a parliamentary panel on defence has advisable that the inter-services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, be handed and enacted as a statute, with none amendments.

“In summation, the committee, while agreeing with the provisions of the bill, in no uncertain words recommend that the bill without any amendments be passed, enacted as a statute and the committee’s observations/recommendation be considered,” the Standing Committee on Defence mentioned in its report.

The Panel’s Report (Seventeenth Lok Sabha) on the invoice was offered to Lok Sabha on Friday and likewise laid in Rajya Sabha.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

The Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, was launched in Lok Sabha on March 15 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Defence by the Speaker on April 24 for examination and report. It is a major transfer as India has begun the method to re-organise and combine its Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) into theatre instructions.

The restructuring of Military Commands for optimum utilisation of assets by bringing about jointness in operations, together with by way of the institution of joint or theatre instructions wherein the personnel of the three forces will serve collectively.

Currently, personnel of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are ruled in accordance with the provisions contained of their particular governing or regulatory Service Acts — the Army Act, 1950; the Navy Act, 1957; and the Air Force Act, 1950.

“At the time of enactment of these respective Acts, most of the service organisations were largely comprised of personnel from a single service i.e. Either Army, Navy or Air Force. However, now there are numerous inter-services organisations such as Andaman and Nicobar Command, Strategic Forces Command, Defence Space Agency etc. And joint training establishments like National Defence Academy and National Defence College, where personnel of the armed forces and other forces serve together,” the committee added.

Currently, the commander-in-chief or officer-in-command of the inter-services organisations is just not empowered to train disciplinary/administrative powers over the personnel belonging to different providers. Only officers of the respective providers are empowered to train disciplinary powers over the service personnel beneath their respective Service Acts, the report mentioned.

“Accordingly, the officers serving in these organisations need to be reverted to their respective parent service units for exercising any disciplinary or administrative action,” it mentioned.

In view of the above, the Ministry of Defence has proposed to enact new laws that’s the inter-services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023.

“The Bill seeks to empower the commander-in-chief and officer-in-command of inter-services organisations with all disciplinary and administrative powers in respect of personnel serving in or attached to such organisations/establishments,” it mentioned. 

The members of the committee have been mandated to current their report back to Parliament by the final day of the primary week of the following Monsoon session. The session started on July 20 and is scheduled to finish on August 11. 

The committee discovered that “as per the Objects and Reasons of the Bill, the proposed bill will essentially be an enabling legislation, which will empower the heads of the inter-services organisations to exercise effective command, control and discipline on all personnel of regular Air Force, Army and Navy and to persons of other forces as notified by the central government, who are serving in or attached to an inter-services organisation, without amending the respective Acts.”

Service personnel when serving in or connected to an inter-services organisation will “continue to be governed by their respective Service Acts”, it added.

The panel ready this report primarily based on the background transient offered by the Ministry of Defence, the oral examination of the representatives of the ministry held on May 29 and post-evidence replies sought by the committee.