‘Quite shocking’: HC on Union govt plea opposing enhanced pension benefits to Vir Chakra awardee
The bench expressed shock that the war hero from Patiala was dragged into litigation, with the 2018 AFT judgment now being challenged despite the issue being settled by the Supreme Court in 2014
The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the army and the central government to clear pension arrears of a Vir Chakra awardee of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, Capt Reet MP Singh, within one month as ordered by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) in 2018.
A bench comprising justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and justice Meenakshi Mehta expressed shock in the matter that the war hero from Patiala was dragged into litigation and that the judgment passed by the AFT in 2018 was now being challenged despite the issue being settled by the apex court in 2014.
“The judgment attained finality way back in 2018 and the same has not been implemented till date which is quite shocking,” the bench observed dismissing the plea from the central government.
“We direct the petitioners to implement the order within a period of one month henceforth, failing which, 15% additional interest upon interest already directed by the AFT, shall be payable in favour of the concerned officer and shall be recoverable from the concerned officers, who would be responsible for not releasing the payment,” the bench ordered terming the petition ‘misconceived’.
The officer had sustained 80% disability and lost an eye in the war and had not been granted enhanced disability benefits by ‘broad-banding’ of disability percentage by way of a policy introduced by the central government with effect from 1996.
The enhanced benefits were granted by the ministry of defence (MoD) only to post-1996 ‘invalidation’ cases and were refused to pre-1996 cases and to those who were released with disability pension or war-injury pension on completion of terms, voluntary retirement or superannuation.
However, the Supreme Court (SC) in 2014 struck down the cut-off date and quashed the distinction based on the manner of exit from service and directed the payment of benefits with arrears from 1996 with 8% interest to all affected disabled retirees.
The officer was awarded disability pension at the rate of 80% instead of 100%. The AFT ruled in favour of the officer in 2018 in view of the judgment passed by the Supreme Court in 2014. It was this order that the government had challenged now.
Earlier this month, the SC had expressed anguish towards the army authorities challenging disability benefits of a disabled veteran who had incurred diabetes in service. Costs of ₹50,000 were also imposed in December 2024 on the army and the MoD in another case for challenging the pension of a military widow.