Indian soldiers fight two battles-military and civil
The Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant recently spoke about the judicial access for soldiers, which at once brought into focus the inadequacy of the system in giving them a fair chance at seeking legal redressal. Delivering a speech at Leh on Sunday, Justice Kant highlighted the symbiotic relationship between the judiciary and the armed forces, stating that while courts safeguard constitutional values, it is the soldiers who create the conditions necessary for those ideals to endure. Highlighting their role, the CJI, while calling for better judicial access for soldiers, stated the country must not compel them to “fight two battles at once”, one at the border and another at home for their legal rights.
“While the Constitution speaks in the language of rights, dignity, equality, and justice, entire credit for the same goes to you for securing the conditions in which those promises are able to survive for the people of India,” he said. “A nation cannot meaningfully speak of liberty or justice if it cannot preserve its sovereignty, its stability, and its peace. In that sense, the work of the Court and the work of the soldier are different in method, but united in purpose and complementary to each other,” the CJI said.
Referring to the difficulties faced by soldiers, he said that service in a uniform does not exempt one from the ordinary burdens of life, and a soldier may still face a land dispute. “A veteran may struggle for service or welfare entitlements. A family may find itself caught in pension-related delays, housing issues, matrimonial discord, or bureaucratic indifference,” he said. The CJI referred to the ‘Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana’ launched in July 2025 to provide free legal aid, assistance and support services to serving defence personnel, ex-servicemen, their dependent family members, and members of the Paramilitary Forces and CAPFs when he was the executive head of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
Under the scheme, resolution of issues ranging from property disputes and pension delays to matrimonial discord and school admissions has been undertaken, he said. Concluding the address, the CJI assured the forces, saying, “You guard the nation at her frontiers. It is the duty of the nation’s institutions to ensure that they guard all your interests arduously.” However, while in service, the military courts have been found wanting in settling legal issues for the serving soldiers. Information gleaned from the web dealing with legal matters paints a sordid picture for sure.
Indian army has created a human rights cell, spearheaded a major general for “greater transparency and probity”. Indian armed forces are accused at times of violating human rights. The army set up a human rights cell way back in 1993, which is being upgraded to a ‘directorate’. It is hard to say whether the cell/directorate has been effective.
Ironically, its official website has not been updated in nearly ten years. The army dismisses more than 96 per cent of human rights allegations it receives. The Indian military justice system for the army and other forces is based on the British Indian Army Act of 1911. But the UK itself reformed its system after it was found to be unfair. No matter how just and honest individual Indian soldiers may be, our military justice system is too faulty to be fair, opine people in the know.
