Section 8 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007: Term of Office

Section 8 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 contains the original provision dealing with the tenure of the Chairperson and other Members of the Armed Forces Tribunal. For appointments governed by the post-2021 regime, however, Section 8 must be read with Section 9A of the AFT Act and Sections 5 and 6 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.

Current-law note: The original Section 8 age limits are no longer the complete rule for appointments governed by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021. Under Section 5 of that Act, the Chairperson holds office for four years or until age 70, whichever is earlier, and a Member holds office for four years or until age 67, whichever is earlier. Section 6 permits re-appointment in accordance with the 2021 Act.

What does Section 8 of the AFT Act, 2007 provide?

Main rule: The original Section 8 states that the Chairperson or a Member shall hold office for a term of four years from the date on which he enters upon office and shall be eligible for re-appointment.

Original age limit for Chairperson: Where the Chairperson had been a Judge of the Supreme Court, the original provision capped tenure at age 70. Where the Chairperson had been the Chief Justice of a High Court, the original cap was age 65.

Original age limit for other Members: The original provision stated that no other Member could continue after attaining age 65.

Current term of office under the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021

Section 9A of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act provides that, for appointments governed by the later tribunal-reform regime, the term of office and related service conditions are governed by Chapter II of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.

Office	Current term	Maximum age
Chairperson	Four years	70 years, whichever occurs earlier
Member	Four years	67 years, whichever occurs earlier

Is re-appointment permitted?

Yes. Section 6 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 provides that the Chairperson and Member of a Tribunal are eligible for re-appointment in accordance with that Act. The provision also directs that preference be given to the service already rendered by the person when considering re-appointment.

Transitional protection for certain earlier appointments

Section 5 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 contains a transitional proviso for certain Chairpersons or Members appointed between 26 May 2017 and the notified date. Where the appointment order prescribed a longer term or higher retirement age than Section 5, that appointment order may continue to govern, subject to the statutory maximum term stated in the proviso.

Meaning and effect of Section 8

Section 8 establishes the tenure principle for the Armed Forces Tribunal. Its original text fixed a four-year term and made re-appointment possible, but used different age ceilings depending on the office and prior judicial status of the Chairperson. The 2021 reform legislation introduced a uniform modern framework: four years for both Chairperson and Member, with age ceilings of 70 and 67 respectively.

For present-day legal research, Section 8 should therefore be read together with Section 6 - Qualifications, Section 7 - Appointment, and Section 9 - Resignation and removal, along with Section 9A and the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.

Key points about Section 8

Section 8 is titled "Term of office".
The original AFT Act prescribed a four-year term and allowed re-appointment.
The original age limits were 70 for a Chairperson who had been a Supreme Court Judge, 65 for a Chairperson who had been a High Court Chief Justice, and 65 for other Members.
The current 2021 framework generally fixes the Chairperson's term at four years or age 70, whichever is earlier.
The current 2021 framework generally fixes a Member's term at four years or age 67, whichever is earlier.
Re-appointment remains permitted under Section 6 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.

Official legal resources

Law reviewed and article updated: 7 September 2026.