The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the central government and the Army for appealing against a tribunal order that granted a liberalised pension to the widow of a soldier who died during a counter-terrorism patrol in Jammu and Kashmir, lamenting that such appeals not only lack merit but also impose undue costs on widows of those who served the nation.
“It’s very, very harsh. He was a soldier of this country, and he worked for you. How can you come in appeal in a matter like this?” remarked a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and AG Masih, highlighting the need for fairness in such cases.
The bench also flagged the absence of an internal mechanism to filter unnecessary appeals, emphasising that this particular case involved a soldier who died in the line of duty during Operation Rakshak, a counter-terrorism initiative along the Line of Control.
The case pertained to Naik Inderjeet Singh, who suffered a cardiac arrest while on patrol in extreme weather conditions in January 2013. His commanding officer classified the death as a “battle casualty” but Singh’s widow was granted only a special family pension instead of the liberalised family pension, which provides higher benefits.
Read more: British Hindus protest Oxford Union Kashmir debate over speakers' ‘terror’ links
{{/usCountry}}Read more: British Hindus protest Oxford Union Kashmir debate over speakers' ‘terror’ links
{{/usCountry}}Singh’s widow challenged the decision before the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which in 2019 directed the Army to grant her the liberalised pension along with arrears and compensation. The Centre and the Army subsequently appealed the AFT’s decision before the Supreme Court.
During the hearing on Thursday, the bench highlighted the challenging circumstances of Singh’s death. “He was on a patrolling duty in extreme weather conditions in a forward area. He complained of breathlessness and could not be provided proper medical care because of the terrain and died. How can you now say his family does not deserve a liberalised pension? That is so unfair,” the bench said.
Additional Solicitor General Vikramjeet Banerjee, representing the government, argued that the distinction between “battle casualty” and “physical casualty” had been upheld in the 2019 Kanchan Dua judgment. He contended that granting liberalised pensions in all cases could undermine the recognition accorded to soldiers who die in live combat or hostile operations. “We are not opposed to the soldier here but are going by principles,” he said.
However, the bench rejected this reasoning, stating that the earlier judgment was based on entirely different facts. “You cannot deny that this man was on operational duty in war-like conditions. The principle from that case cannot be applied here,” the court noted.
The bench also criticised the indiscriminate filing of appeals in such matters, pointing out the cost implications for widows dragged into legal battles. “We are dealing with the widow of a soldier who died in the line of duty during an operational patrolling duty. Dragging a widow to court involves cost. And we are going to lay down rules on the cost to be imposed in such cases. It is high time that such actual costs must be imposed,” added the bench, indicating that actual costs would be levied on frivolous appeals in similar cases going forward.
The court reserved its judgment, promising detailed guidelines for the government and the armed forces to ensure fairness in pension matters and reduce unnecessary litigation.
The AFT’s 2019 order had described Singh’s death as meeting the criteria for a “battle casualty” due to the operational activity, extreme climatic conditions, and lack of immediate medical care. It granted liberalised family pension with arrears from January 2013 and an ex-gratia lump sum applicable to battle casualties. The order had further warned of interest penalties if the payments were delayed.
There are around 3,000 pending appeals by the defence ministry in several high courts and the Apex court regarding death and disability benefits awarded by different tribunals, HT has learnt.