Supreme Court Dismisses Centre’s Appeals on Disability Pension

New Delhi: Flagging a 2015 defence ministry report on the denial of disability benefits to soldiers on hyper-technical grounds, the Supreme Court has regretted the government’s failure to implement its recommendation to immediately withdraw such cases against disabled soldiers.

The 2015 report had recommended the withdrawal of cases challenging the grant of disability pension to incapacitated soldiers.

The apex court dismissed 271 appeals filed by the Centre against orders granting disability pension to ex-servicemen. It said the onus remained on the employer to prove that a service member’s disability was not attributable to military service.

The court noted that several special leave petitions and civil appeals against similar orders had already been dismissed.

In its verdict delivered on September 15, a two-judge bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe referred to the defence ministry’s 2015 report titled Review of Service and Pension Matters, Including Potential Disputes, Minimising Litigation and Strengthening Institutional Mechanisms Related to Redressal of Grievances, also known as the Raksha Mantri Report.

“The Raksha Mantri Report recommended the immediate withdrawal of appeals of this nature pending against disabled soldiers, a recommendation that has not been faithfully implemented,” the apex court said.

It said such appeals continued to be filed even after the defence ministry accepted the committee’s recommendation to withdraw this category of litigation.

The court noted that the report had observed: “While the world has moved much ahead, in India many disabled soldiers are still denied disability benefits on hyper-technical reasons.

It is important to realise that there is inherent stress and strain in military service. In all democracies, disabilities arising in service or during authorised leave are considered as attributable to or aggravated by military service.”

The bench said the appeals before it challenged orders passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal and various high courts.

It said the issue before the court was confined to entitlement to the disability component of service pension upon retirement following the completion of service or engagement.

“We are at a loss to understand why the position of a rule governing pensionary benefits should be shrouded in mystery. Transparency, clarity and certainty are of enormous importance for any legitimate action,” it said.

The court said ex-servicemen should not be left dissatisfied or lacking confidence in the manner in which their claims and entitlements were dealt with.

“It is necessary, rather compelling, that the applicable rules and regulations are formulated and authoritatively notified by the competent authority as early as possible,” it said.