SEPOY P VINCENT Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A writ court examining the validity of an order or sentence passed by a Court Martial does not sit in appeal over any such order. The scope of judicial review is limited to finding out whether the order or sentence suffers from any illegality, procedural irregularity or perversity of any kind. The Court may also examine whether the punishment imposed by the Court Martial is disproportionate to the gravity of the offence committed by the accused. Is there any room for this Court to interfere on any one of those grounds in the present case is the only question that falls for consideration in this writ petition.

(2.) The petitioner was enrolled as a Sepoy in Indian Army in January, 1994. In the year 1996, he was transferred to 25 Rashtriya Rifles, then deployed in the Counter Insurgency Theatre of military operations in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. On the fateful day of 15th January, 1997, the petitioner was a part of a platoon deployed at Sitengal Post located near village Sitengal in Tehsil Bhadarwah of district Doda. Apart from the petitioner, Naib Subedar K. Karnan, Sepoy Parasuraman, Sepoy R. Ilangovan, Lance/Naik IB Khati and Sepoy Kodandan were also a part of the said platoon, which was commanded by Capt. Anil Sen. According to the prosecution case, Sepoy R. Ilangovan, L/N IB Khati and Sepoy Parasuraman were eating their dinner which included a chicken dish specially arranged and cooked on the instructions of Naib Subedar K. Karnan. The petitioner who too had been invited to partake the food at the invitation of Naib Subedar K. Karnan had an altercation with L/N Jalendran in which the latter accused the former of having used his stove pump for cooking the chicken without L/N Jalendran's permission. The matter, it appears, was resolved with the intervention of Havildar Bhaskaran, Sepoy R. Ilangovan and Sepoy Parasuraman. The accused thereafter left for his living area on the advice of the inmates of Bunker "A" where the personnel aforementioned were eating their food to avoid any untoward incident.

(3.) Some time later, Sepoy Kodandan who was returning from the cook house to Bunker "A" saw the petitioner standing at a short distance of about 4 yards from Bunker "A" while the rest of the party were sitting inside the said bunker. The petitioner was seen holding an AK-47 rifle which had been issued to him by Sapper Uma Shankar, PW-7 for his duty. When Sepoy Kodandan asked the petitioner as to what he was doing near the Bunker, the petitioner replied that he was on duty. The prosecution's case further is that when Sepoy Ram Dass finished his food and wanted to go out of the Bunker to wash his plate, he saw the petitioner standing outside the entrance of Bunker 'A' which was covered by a old, thin and torn Hessian cloth. Sepoy Ram Dass (PW-5) asked the petitioner, who was standing with an AK-47 Rifle on hip position, to go away to avoid any further conflict to which the petitioner is alleged to have replied that Sepoy Ram Dass should not come forward as the petitioner had cocked his rifle. Sepoy Ram Dass did not take the warning of the petitioner very seriously and took one more step in order to go outside for which the petitioner furiously warned him not to take a single step further otherwise he would shoot him dead. Seeing the petitioner in an agitated mood, PW-5 Sepoy Ram Dass remained inside the Bunker. Sepoy Parasuraman who also heard this conversation moved towards the accused petitioner but before he could reach him, he was fired at by the petitioner and fell just outside the entrance of Bunker "A". The petitioner is then alleged to have fired another burst from his rifle inside the Bunker which hit Sepoy R. Ilangovan who was also trying to rush outside Bunker "A" in order to stop/control the petitioner. The firing terrorized the inmates of Bunker "A" who took cover under their beds inside the bunker. As a result of the firing, Sepoy M. Kodandan (PW-6) received a bullet injury on the upper side of his right thigh. According to the prosecution, the petitioner fired a third burst of bullets inside the bunker inflicting serious gun-shot injuries to Naib Subedar K Karnan and L/N IB Khati.