Punjab and Haryana High Court slams government inaction on Army widow’s pension order

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, August 12

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has admonished the Centre and its functionaries for forcing a retired Army personnel’s widow to approach the court, following prolonged non-compliance with an order passed by Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), directing the grant of family pension to her.

The censure by the Bench of Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Karamjit Singh came on the petition filed against the Union of India and other respondents by Shiv Dei Guleria through counsel Lt Col Naresh Ghai. She was seeking the implementation of the AFT order dated November 1, 2022, whereby the respondents were directed to grant family pension to her within three months.

Responding to the submissions, the counsel for the respondents during the course of hearing stated that an execution application before AFT was fixed for September 25. “The order passed by AFT will be implemented by the respondents before the said date,” the counsel added.

Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted: “It is a very unfortunate situation where instead of implementing the AFT order, the respondents have compelled the petitioner-widow of retired Army personnel to knock on the door of this court…. It is undisputed that the order dated November 1, 2022, passed by AFT has attained finality as no appeal or revision has been filed by the official respondents against the order.”

The Bench also recorded its “deep disappointment and anguish towards the lackadaisical attitude of the official respondents” after asserting that the court did not find justification on their part in not complying with the AFT order for the last more than one-and-a-half years.

The Bench asserted despite issuance of directions from time to time in the execution application for implementation of the AFT order, it remained non-complied with till date. “It is undisputed that the order dated November 1, 2022, passed by AFT has attained finality as no appeal or revision has been filed by the official respondents against the order…. No explanation, however, is forthcoming as to why the order passed by AFT, has not been complied with till date,” the Bench added.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench directed AFT to conclude the execution proceedings pending before it expeditiously, “but not later than three months”. Before parting with the case, the Bench took note of an undertaking by OIC, legal cell, to convey the court observations to the authorities concerned and “persuade and request them to comply with the order passed by AFT in its letter and spirit at the earliest”.