Understanding Summary Court Martial - Balancing Justice And Authority
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 12
- 1 min read
Shaurya Singh, Christ (Deemed to be University) Pune-Lavasa
ABSTRACT
This paper analyses the effectiveness and procedure of summary court martial in the Indian Army that is conducted against persons of rank below officers and junior commissioned officers or warrant officers. It is often frowned upon due to the Commanding Officer being the sole presiding officer of the court and thereby considered to have arbitrary powers while conducting the same. It is the duty of the Commanding Officer to ensure discipline and administer justice. SCM came into existence with the idea of being applied to administer justice in field/operational areas where resources are scarce and a speedy trial is desired. Hence, the paper provides a critical analyses of the SCM by evaluating the existing procedure and providing recommendations to improve the same thereby balancing justice and authority.
Keywords: Summary Court Martial, Commanding Officer (CO), Judge Advocate General (JAG), Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO), Warrant Officers (WO), court of inquiry, summary of evidence, promulgation.
