Supreme Court of India on use of force during insurgency

The Supreme Court of India has delivered a decision on the use of force in extraordinary circumstances in disturbed areas which are affected with insurgency.

The decision has resulted in sharp reactions from many quarters and I have attempted to dissect the same in this oped for ABP News titled "Human Rights and the Armed Forces: the unfilled space".

The decision has also touched upon the jurisdiction of regular criminal courts over military personnel and has held that personnel of the uniformed forces are not immune to the general law of the land.

The entire decision can be accessed here.

Landmark decision of Supreme Court of India on summary courts martial

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India has held that the provisions of Summary Court Martial (SCM) can only be invoked in exceptional circumstances in cases of grave expediency and that recourse to SCM is not a rule but an exception and that SCM can only be held after recording reasons to the existence of such circumstances.

The Supreme Court has also reproduced and endorsed the Report of the Committee of Experts constituted by the Defence Minister which had made similar observations regarding SCM.

The apex court has upheld a Delhi High Court decision on the aspect of SCM being an exceptional provision but has not agreed with the observation of the High Court that a soldier cannot be tried by the Commanding Officer of another unit to which the said soldier is for the time being attached. The Supreme Court has remanded back the case to the Delhi HC to be heard on merits.

A detailed report by The Indian Express can be accessed here.

Slow appellate justice in Nigeria

We read here of a decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria upholding the court-martial conviction and 4-year sentence of an army corporal who had defiled an 11-year-old girl. Consider the timeline:

Offenses: January 4 to March 5, 2005
Trial: August 29, 2005
Decision of Court of Appeal, March 18, 2010
Decision of the Supreme Court, July 2016

Tech watch: viral trophy photo a punishable offense

The military chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court has upheld the 12-day suspension of a warrant officer in the Guardia Civil. The man had had his photo taken with the body of a dead prison escapee. The photo was inscribed "there's the corpse" and was widely circulated via WhatsApp. The court deemed it improper and contrary to the dignity of the Guardia Civil. Details here in Spanish.

Reluctant witness in the Azaria case

An IDF medic who was called to testify in the court-martial of Sgt. Elor Azaria is refusing to testify. It's a confused tale, but this article from Haaretz gives a good account. Excerpt:

“I am being threatened today, and I don’t intend to die because people here leak material irresponsibly as if I were obstructing justice,” said [Ofer] Ohana. “It endangers my life. When I gave [investigators] the material I did so innocently in order that the truth would be found.”