Don’t drag armed forces personnel in unnecessary legal battles: SC

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday criticised the Union government for repeatedly dragging armed forces personnel and their families to the top court over disputes related to pensions, highlighting the adverse impact of such litigation on morale within the armed forces.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan called for a policy intervention to address such cases, stressing that personnel who have served the nation should not be subjected to unnecessary legal battles.

“As it is, there are only a few people willing to serve in the armed forces. Why should the Union drag such people to this court? They have served the Union after all. Day in and day out, these matters are brought here,” lamented the bench.

The court was responding to attorney general R Venkataramani, who defended the government’s appeal against an Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) order granting disability pension to a retired Indian Air Force officer diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes. He argued that such conditions were often contested for disability pension claims. However, the bench was firm in its disapproval.

“You first tell us how many years did this man serve? Why should people be dragged to this court after having given their service to the nation for a long time? There must be some policy decision taken not to do it. Since you are appearing, we are also saying this – all appeals against such matters must stop,” the bench told the AG.

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.

The bench further reminded the government of the purpose behind establishing AFT: “Day in and day out, all such matters are dragged to the Supreme Court. What was the purpose of setting up the AFT if all matters were to be brought here? These are your own people. They have served the Union after all.”

Concluding the hearing, the court dismissed the Centre’s appeal, citing delays and the compelling merits of the AFT’s order in the facts of the present case.

The officer, who served for over three decades, was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Primary Hypertension after 30 years of service. While the Release Medical Board (RMB) initially denied attributing these conditions to his service, AFT found that the “rigorous Air Force training and associated stress and strain” likely contributed to their development. The tribunal, in its 2023 decision, granted the officer the benefit of “rounding off” his disability pension percentage to 50%, citing a prior Supreme Court judgment that extended this benefit to retired personnel.

Monday’s hearing echoed sentiments expressed by the Supreme Court in December, when it imposed a ₹50,000 penalty on the Union government and the Indian Army for forcing a soldier’s widow into unnecessary litigation. The woman had to fight for years to secure a liberalised family pension after her husband, Naik Inderjeet Singh, died during a counterterrorism patrol in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rejecting the government’s appeal against the AFT’s 2019 decision in the widow’s favour, the justice Oka-led bench had at the time bearted the government’s reliance on technical distinctions to deny benefits in cases involving soldiers who die in challenging conditions while on duty.

To be sure, the Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasised the need for an internal mechanism within the government to filter unnecessary appeals in pension-related disputes. In its December ruling, it criticised the Centre’s approach as “harsh” and lacking in compassion. Monday’s proceedings reinforced this view, with the court pointing out the futility of dragging such cases to the highest court in the land.