NEW DELHI: The principal bench of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has converted the order of dismissal of a non-commissioned IAF officer, who confessed to being gay, into a routine discharge.The bench, headed by Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Rasika Chaube, ruled that substituting dismissal with routine discharge prevents lasting career stigma for the ex-officer seeking employment outside the armed forces.The non-commissioned IAF officer, who had served about 10 and a half years, had applied for a compassionate premature discharge in 2024 to settle down with his partner, disclosing his relationship in an application.Instead of granting the discharge, IAF initiated a court of inquiry. The inquiry concluded he had breached discipline and risked national security by entering into a relationship with a foreigner. The court of inquiry also found him guilty of travelling abroad (Thailand and Sri Lanka) without permission. He was subsequently dismissed from service earlier this year.
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He then approached AFT principal bench not to challenge IAF’s disciplinary right, but to request “dismissal” be changed to a “discharge” so he could seek future civilian employment.The bench held that while dismissal is warranted when rules are breached, exceptions must be considered in this case. “The respondents could have granted discharge to the applicant, but in the garb of maintaining discipline they dismissed him. The effect of both is identical inasmuch as the respondents do not want the service of the applicant.”
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