In Brief
A soldier (Virendra Kumar) was convicted by General Court Martial for the murder of a fellow soldier (Havildar Harpal) in a firing incident at a military range in 2004. The Armed Forces Tribunal set aside his conviction, holding that Rule 180 of the Army Rules (requiring the accused's presence during evidence collection) was violated in the preliminary Court of Inquiry. The Supreme Court allowed the Union's appeal, holding that while Rule 180 was indeed violated, the respondent could not raise this objection for the first time after final conviction without having objected earlier. The Court ruled the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to remand the case based on Rule 180 non-compliance. The respondent was not to serve further imprisonment having already served over 10 years.
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