New Delhi: Government would move the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order quashing four top level appointments in the Air Force and expedite creation of an Armed Forces Tribunal to ensure that military disputes do not go to civilian courts, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in New Delhi today (Nov 9, 2004).

"We will be moving a Special Leave Petition before the apex Court against the orders," he said commenting on yesterday's order quashing recommendations of the Special Promotion Board (SPB) of IAF held in February, 2003 in which Air Vice Marshals T S Chatwal and Harish Masand were denied promotion to the rank of Air Marshals.

Mukherjee said "we are studying the High Court order which quashed the Promotion Board's recommendations which were in conformity with the then existing promotion policy".

A Division Bench of Justice Vijender Jain and Justice H R Malhotra, which also quashed 2002 Promotion Policy of Air Force, directed the Air Force authorities to convene another SPB within four weeks to reconsider cases of Chhatwal and Masand as per the new 2004 Air Force Promotion Policy.

The process of setting up of an Armed Forces Tribunal was being expedited so that military litigations do not spill over to civilian courts.