Parliamentary panel backs bill that seeks to push theaterisation

New Delhi The parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has backed a bill that seeks to empower the Union government to notify the setting up of interservices organisations, including joint services commands, and bestow powers on heads of such organisations to act against personnel from any of the three services to ensure discipline and effective discharge of duties, amid a renewed push for theaterisation, a long-awaited military reform for the best use of the military’s resources to fight future wars.

In a report tabled in Parliament on Friday on The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, the panel recommended that the bill be passed without any amendments and be enacted as a statute to promote tri-services integration. The panel’s go-ahead to the proposed legislation has cleared the decks for the passage of the bill.

“The Committee is of the considered view that enactment of the bill will herald greater integration and jointmanship in Inter-Services Organisations/establishments...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 be considered,” the panel said in its latest report.

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 15 before the Speaker referred it to the Standing Committee on Defence on April 24.

The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, seeks to bestow powers on the commander-in-chief, officer-in-command or any other officer heading a tri-services organisation to take disciplinary and administrative action against personnel under them who are currently governed by the respective laws of the three services -- the Army Act, 1950, the Air Force Act, 1950, and the Navy Act, 1957.

“The Committee unequivocally recommends that consequent to the passing of this Bill, ways and means be devised for expeditious completion of the proceedings in all the cases coming before the heads of the ISO, then only the intent of the provisions of the Bill would pragmatically be achieved,” the panel noted in its report.

The existing legal framework of the armed forces has its limitations when it comes to tri-services matters as officers of one service lack the authority to exercise disciplinary and administrative powers over personnel belonging to another service. For instance, a three-star general heading a joint command cannot act against air force or navy personnel serving under him.

The bill says lack of such powers with the heads of interservices organisations and joint establishments over personnel belonging to a service other than their own has a direct impact on command, control and discipline.

“As a consequence, the personnel serving in interservices organisations need to be reverted to their parent service units for any disciplinary or administrative action. This is not only time consuming, but also has financial implications relating to movement of the personnel,” the government said in a statement on the objectives of the bill.

The problem becomes even more cumbersome when the disciplinary or administrative proceedings stem from the same set of circumstances but involve personnel belonging to different services, it said while pointing out that this leads to multiple sets of proceedings under the respective Service Acts, which impedes expeditious disposal of cases, thereby affecting the standard of discipline.

The proposed law will improve the functioning of interservices organisations as they will be able to work with greater independence as a result of much-needed powers being vested in their commanders, Lieutenant General Satish Dua (retd), a former Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, earlier said.

The utility of the law will only increase as more interservices organisations come up, he added.

Another key objective of the bill is to empower the Union government to notify the setting up of interservices organisations, including joint services commands -- a key goal of the ongoing theaterisation drive -- consisting of units and personnel drawn from the three services, and placed under a commander-in-chief or officer-in-command.

Efforts to push theaterisation have been on after General Anil Chauhan took over as the chief of defence staff in September 2022 even though the momentum was hit after his predecessor, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash in December 2021.

The theaterisation model currently being pursued seeks to set up three integrated commands -- two land-centric theatres, and a maritime theatre command. The armed forces have 17 single-service commands spread across the country. The army and air force have seven commands each, while the navy has three. Creating theatres would involve merging the existing commands.