More than 35 per cent of the sanctioned posts for judges and office staff in the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) remain vacant, even as the judicial forum continues to grapple with a backlog of around 11,000 pending cases.Of the 34 sanctioned posts for judicial and administrative members across the AFT’s 11 Benches, 12 are vacant, leaving an overall shortfall of just over 35 per cent, according to information shared by the Ministry of Defence in Parliament on July 24.Three Benches located at Srinagar, Jabalpur and Guwahati are functioning without a single member, with both their judicial and administrative posts lying vacant. In contrast, the Principal Bench in New Delhi and the Mumbai and Jaipur Benches are operating at full sanctioned strength.Also read: Government appoints 11 judicial, 12 administrative members to the Armed Forces TribunalEach AFT Bench comprises one or more courts. The Principal Bench and the Chandigarh Bench are sanctioned three courts each, while the Lucknow Bench has two courts. The remaining Benches, including those located at Kochi, Chennai and Kolkata, are sanctioned one court each.The AFT Chairperson must be a former Supreme Court judge. Each court is presided over by a judicial member, who must have served as a High Court judge, along with an administrative member, traditionally a retired defence officer of the rank of Major General or above. Recently, the eligibility rules were amended to allow persons with experience in fields such as economics, management, commerce and industry to be appointed as administrative members.As far as the office staff strength is concerned, of the 564 sanctioned posts, 205 are vacant, according to the Defence Ministry’s data.Among the AFT’s three largest Benches, the Principal Bench has a sanctioned staff strength of 103, followed by Chandigarh with 89 and Lucknow with 88. Vacancies at these Benches stand at 37 per cent, 29 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively. At the Guwahati and Kolkata Benches, the number of vacant posts is higher than the current posted strength.Official Ministry of Defence figures reveal that as of March 2026, about 11,000 cases are pending for adjudication before the AFT. A total of 44,622 cases were registered with the AFT from 2021 to January 2026. A large number of cases are also awaiting execution, where judgment and directions passed by the AFT have not been implemented by the government.The Armed Forces Tribunal was inaugurated in August 2009 under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, passed by Parliament, with the power to adjudicate disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolments and conditions of service relating to persons subject to the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957, and the Air Force Act, 1950.It can further provide for appeals arising out of orders, findings or sentences of court-martial held under the said Acts and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Prior to the AFT being established, all such cases used to be filed before the High Court. Orders passed by the AFT can be appealed by either party before the High Court, and thereafter the Supreme Court.