Mumbai: Mother of Agniveer martyred in Op Sindoor moves HC seeking full death benefits

Unlike regular soldiers who earn pension and gratuity upon qualifying for service, Agniveers receive only a one-time ‘Seva Nidhi’ corpus at the end of 4 years

MUMBAI: The mother of Agniveer M Murali Naik who was martyred during Operation Sindoor in May this year has moved the Bombay High Court seeking parity in death benefits given to fallen soldiers of the Indian army.

Agniveer M Murali Naik was killed on May 9 this year in the cross-border shelling at Poonch during Operation Sindoor

The petition, filed on Wednesday, stated that under the present policy framework, an Agniveer and his family are not entitled to any form of pension or lifelong family welfare benefits upon completion of service or in the event of death during service. Unlike regular soldiers who earn pension and gratuity upon qualifying for service, Agniveers receive only a one-time ‘Seva Nidhi’ corpus at the end of four years, together with a limited death compensation package if killed in the line of duty.

Naik was killed on May 9 this year in the cross-border shelling at Poonch during Operation Sindoor. In her petition, Jyothibai Shriram Naik highlighted that her son was recruited in 2023, and he was serving as an Agniveer with the 851 Light Regiment that specialises in providing artillery support on the battlefield. Her petition has challenged the “operational consequences” of the Agnipath Scheme, saying it denies the families of Agniveer soldiers who fall in the line of duty the same survivor benefits, financial security, and the institutional honour that are accorded to the families of regular soldiers.

“The fallen Agniveer receives certain ex-gratia and insurance-based payments, amounting to approximately ₹1 crore in total, under several combined heads. However, they are not provided the regular family pension, lifelong healthcare, or social security benefits that accrue automatically to the families of regular soldiers killed in identical field conditions. Although the families may receive certain one-time payments, these cannot substitute the stability, dignity, and long-term security inherent in a lifelong family pension.” The petition further stated that this reveals the “inequities embedded in the current scheme.”

Highlighting that she and her husband were wholly dependent on their son’s income for sustenance, Naik said that the “untimely death” of her son had left them in a state of emotional devastation and acute financial insecurity. Naik submitted that the focus of her petition was to ensure that the sacrifice of her son and of all those who serve the nation under any recruitment scheme are honoured with the same dignity, recognition, and care that the law and the constitution promise to every soldier’s family.

“Such unilateral modification of service conditions, particularly those related to long-term security and posthumous benefits, amounts to bypassing the legislative scheme and raises serious constitutional concerns,” stated the petition which was filed through senior advocate Prakash Ambedkar and advocates Sandesh More, Hemant Ghadigaonkar, and Hitendra Gandhi.

Naik has sought that this aspect of the Agnipath scheme be declared “unconstitutional” and she has also asked for the court to direct the central and the state government to extend the full range of benefits, honours, and protections that are due to the families of all soldiers who make the supreme sacrifice, without any discrimination based on the scheme of engagement.

The Agnipath Scheme, in its present form, said the petition, introduces a structural and potentially harmful division within the Armed Forces by placing two categories of soldiers and regular cadre personnel side by side on the battlefield while subjecting them to markedly different service conditions, entitlements, and posthumous benefits. “The uniform expectation of sacrifice on the front lines cannot co-exist with a non-uniform recognition of that sacrifice in death,” Naik said in her petition.