THE GOVERNMENT introduced a Bill in Lok Sabha on Wednesday that will provide the Commander-in-Chief or Officer-in-Command of Inter-Services Organisations – such as the Andaman and Nicobar Command or the Strategic Forces Command – disciplinary authority over personnel of any service under the command.
The Indian Air Force, Army, and Navy are currently governed by the provisions of the Air Force Act, 1950, the Army Act, 1950, and the Navy Act, 1957, respectively.
Under present rules and regulations, only officers of the respective services are authorised to exercise disciplinary powers over service personnel under the respective service Acts.
According to the law, this has a direct influence on command, control, and discipline difficulties in inter-services organisations such as the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the Defence Space Agency, and joint training establishments such as the National Defence Academy.
The Commander-in-Chief or Officer-in-Command of such organisations does not have disciplinary or administrative authority over personnel from other services.
“As a consequence, the people serving in inter-services organisations need to be reverted to their parent service units for any disciplinary or administrative action. This is not only time intensive, but also has expensive ramifications due to employee mobility,” it stated.
