Centre Pulled Up Over Cadet Disability Benefits
The court gave the government another opportunity to comply with its directions and place on record the minutes of meetings held pursuant to its order.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre for failing to reconsider welfare measures for military officer cadets who are invalided out after suffering disabilities during training.
A three-judge bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna, Justice R. Mahadevan and Justice D.K. Upadhyaya was hearing a suo motu case concerning cadets boarded out because of injuries or disabilities sustained during training.
The court said there had been no genuine reconsideration of the recommendations of the 2015 Sabharwal Committee despite its directions issued on August 4.
The committee had reviewed service and pension matters, litigation and mechanisms for redressal of grievances.
“What is this attitude you are showing to the court?” Justice Nagarathna asked, criticising the government’s reliance on decisions taken in 2022.
The court said the Centre’s affidavit merely referred to earlier meetings and decisions rejecting disability pension and ex-servicemen status for officer cadets.
“It is clear as daylight that there has been no reconsideration of the report,” the bench said.
The court gave the government another opportunity to comply with its directions and place on record the minutes of meetings held pursuant to its order.
The bench noted that ordinary recruits boarded out on disability grounds receive disability pension and other benefits, while officer cadets do not.
Senior advocate Rekha Palli, assisting the court as amicus curiae, said around 400 officer cadets had been affected over the years.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said the matter involved a policy decision and would be considered by the Eighth Central Pay Commission.
The court granted the Centre more time and posted the matter for November 30.