Chennai: The Regional Bench of Armed Forces Tribunal, Chennai, has directed the Army to accord disability pension to a 65-year old Major, who opted for voluntary retirement following injury.
The bench of its judicial member, justice S.S. Satheesachandran and administrative member Lt Gen K. Surendra Nath, however, rejected her plea for seeking service pension stating that the officers taking voluntary retirement cannot be classified on the same footing as those invalided from service, but are to be treated as a different category.
The petitioner V. Mahalakshmi, 65, Thudiyalur, Coimbatore had served in the Indian Army for 15 years. She was promoted to the rank of Major in Military Nursing Service (MNS). During the service she suffered a fracture and subsequently, she opted for voluntary retirement from service.
Review Medical Board, Military Hospital, Secunderabad, on December 16, 2015, had fixed the degree of her disability at 30 per cent for life. In the petition, she sought direction to the Army to give service pension in addition to disability element of pension.
The bench said an MNS Officer must serve minimum 20 years for sanctioning service pension. The officers taking Voluntary Retirement cannot be classified on the same footing as those invalided from service, but are to be treated as a different category. Therefore, the applicant is entitled to disability element of pension, alone.
