The Appointments Committee of Cabinet approved the proposal for appointment of Justice (Retd.) Rajendra Menon, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, to the post of Chairperson, Armed Forces Tribunal in the pay scale of Rs 2,50,000 (fixed) for a period of three years w.e.f the date of assumption of charge of the post, or till attaining the age of 70 tears, whichever is earlier.
On September 30, during a hearing in a suo-moto petition regarding the appointment of members of the Armed Forces Tribunal, the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi stated that Justice Menon’s name had been recommended as the new Chairperson of the Tribunal. Attorney General K K Venugopal asked the Supreme Court to defer the appointment of the Tribunal members to a later date since the provisions of the Act governing the appointment were under challenge. “Until that matter has been decided, the appointment should be deferred,” said Venugopal. Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi refused to do so. He told Attorney General K K Venugopal that the appointment should be done at the earliest. Venugopal then reassured the Supreme Court that the Appointments Committee of the Central Government would clear the name of Justice Menon.
Justice Rajendra Menon who started practising law in 1982 was the Standing Counsel for Central Government from 1991 till his elevation to Bench. He was also appointed as the Welfare Commissioner for the Bhopal Gas Victims Compensation Commission during the period December 2010 to March 2015. He served as the Acting Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court from 2016 to 2017 and was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on August 9, 2018. The Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal in the national capital consists of four members including the current Chairperson Justice Virender Singh. Appointed on January 3, 2017, Justice Singh retired on October 6, 2019.
