Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023

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Context

• A parliamentary panel on defence has recommended that the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, be passed and enacted as a statute, without any amendments.

The Bill

• The Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 15 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Defence by the Speaker on April 24 for examination and report.
• In summation, the committee, while agreeing with the provisions of the bill, in no uncertain words recommend that the bill without any amendments be passed, enacted as a statute and the committee's observations/recommendation be considered," the panel said in its report.

Present Rules

• Currently, personnel of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are governed in accordance with the provisions contained in their specific governing or regulatory Service Acts -- the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957, and the Air Force Act, 1950.
• At the time of enactment of these respective Acts, most of the service organisations were largely comprised of personnel from a single service i.e. either Army, Navy or Air Force. However, now there are numerous inter-services organisations such as Andaman and Nicobar Command, Strategic Forces Command, Defence Space Agency etc. and joint training establishments like National Defence Academy and National Defence College, where personnel of the armed forces and other forces serve together.
• Also currently, the commander-in-chief or officer-in-command of the inter-services organisations is "not empowered to exercise disciplinary/administrative powers over the personnel belonging to other services". Only officers of the respective services are empowered to exercise disciplinary powers over the service personnel under their respective Service Acts. Accordingly, the officers serving in these organisations need to be reverted to their respective parent service units for exercising any disciplinary or administrative action.
• In view of the above, the Ministry of Defence has proposed to enact a new legislation that is the inter-services organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023.

Provisions of the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023

• The Bill seeks to empower the commander-in-chief and officer-in-command of inter-services organisations with all disciplinary and administrative powers in respect of personnel serving in or attached to such organisations/establishments.
• The proposed bill will empower the heads of the inter-services organisations to exercise effective command, control and discipline on all personnel of regular Air Force, Army and Navy and to persons of other forces as notified by the central government, who are serving in or attached to an inter-services organisation, without amending the respective Acts".
• Service personnel when serving in or attached to an inter-services organisation will "continue to be governed by their respective Service Acts"
• The Bill would have a direct impact on command, control and discipline of inter-services organisations like Andaman and Nicobar Command or Defence Space Agency, and joint training establishment like National Defence Academy or National Defence College.

Significance

• The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill 2023 will seek to bridge this gap because of which taking disciplinary actions in tri-service commands has become a lengthy and time-consuming exercise.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/parliamentary-panel-clears-defence-bill-8853154/