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A Delhi High Court bench of Justices Manmohan and Navin Chawla has answered in the affirmative the legal issue whether High Courts have the power of judicial review over the orders and judgments of Armed Forces Tribunals.

Dealing with a batch of petitions challenging orders of Armed Forces Tribunals, the bench has reiterated the view of the Supreme Court that the power of judicial superintendence "has not and can never be taken away," and held that even Tribunals do not lie outside the purview of judicial review and jurisdiction of the High Courts under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

The Court rejected the view that in light of Article 227(4) of the Constitution, which does not cover Armed Forces Tribunals, High Courts have no power of judicial superintendence as well, over the Tribunals, and said that the argument is untenable.

It went on to hold that "this power is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution as has been held in L.Chandra Kumar and Rojer Mathew."

Cause Title: Wing Commander Shyam Naithani vs Union of India & Ors.