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SC raps govt over delay in benefits to cadets
The Supreme Court criticized the Union government for delaying action on improving conditions for disabled military cadets, threatening to summon top officials.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday scoffed at the delay on part of the Union government to act on recommendations aimed at improving condition of military cadets boarded out due to disability suffered during training and said it will be constrained to summon defence and finance secretaries in person if a final call is not taken in two weeks.
The order came in a suo motu proceeding initiated by the court on a news report depicting the plight of such cadets who are either bed-ridden or lack the financial wherewithal for their treatment. The court noted that time was granted to Centre on two occasions —December 2025 and again on January 20 this year — to decide on recommendations made by the chiefs of army, navy and air force.
“We fail to understand that despite this court taking up the issue suo motu there is no response from the defence and finance ministries. For the purpose of considering the recommendations of the service chiefs, we granted six weeks’ time on January 20 and still there is no progress,” a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said.
Noting that the recommendations of service chiefs also entail financial assistance, the court further observed: “Having regard to the fact that the Finance Bill 2026 is under consideration, this is the most appropriate time for meeting the monetary requirements of boarded out cadets (BOC).”
Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who was representing the Centre, told the court that the two ministries — defence and finance — have not got back on the recommendations made by the three service chiefs. When the court reminded that too much time had elapsed and that it was inclined to summon the concerned secretaries, the ASG requested for a final opportunity to decide on the recommendations.
Granting a last opportunity for the Centre to decide within two weeks, the court posted the matter on March 24. “In case no progress is made in the matter, we will be constrained to direct the presence of the defence secretary and finance secretary before us,” it added.
Senior advocate Rekha Palli, assisting the court as amicus curiae, pointed out that several recommendations by various sub-committees had met similar fate in the past.
On August 18 last year, the apex court took up a suo motu matter on the plight of officer cadets who were medically discharged during training at elite academies like the NDA and IMA after suffering disabilities that occurred before commissioning, excluding them from ex-servicemen status and benefits under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) despite incurring lifelong injuries.
Days later, the Union government on August 29 approved the extension of ECHS to officer cadets who are invalidated from training on medical grounds attributable to or aggravated by military training. The Centre even exempted them from paying the mandatory one-time subscription fee of ₹1.2 lakh to avail these benefits.
The amicus curiae had made several recommendations requiring the BOCs to be provided with not just medical assistance but financial support, education and insurance coverage. According to Palli, these cadets were given a raw deal as they should be provided “ex-servicemen” status.
The court too had nudged the Centre to consider their case sympathetically as the number of these BOCs is “miniscule”. The Centre had informed the court that each year roughly 40 cadets are boarded out due to injury during training and their total numbers do not exceed 700.
Palli had further pointed out that a recruit with 20% disability ends up getting a minimum of ₹18,000 per month while a cadet who is entitled to a higher pay on being commissioned as an officer, gets only ₹12,000 as ex-gratia, which is pittance compared to over ₹36,000 that a paramilitary officer Group A rank gets. Even with ECHS, cadets can only get free treatment and not their families, she added. Moreover, their education and resettlement are major concerns as their academic training goes to waste.
The Centre informed the court that such cadets get ex gratia of ₹9,000 per month that may extend to ₹16,000 for 100% disability, besides attendant charges of ₹6,750 per month.
In addition, the three wings of the defence forces have their insurance schemes which propose various scales of payment which includes cadets undergoing training. It provides ₹1.25 crore for death, ₹25 lakh for 100% disability that gets proportionately less depending on the scale of disability, and ₹50,000 for injury certified to be less than 20%.
