MoD to contest scores of disability pension cases

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, November 5

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to contest in court hundreds of cases of disability pension of retired officers and jawans.

The Adjutant General’s branch in a letter to legal cells of all Army commands has said “as directed by the competent authority at MoD, writ petitions be filed in the jurisdictional high court”. These petitions will be against judgments of various Armed Forces Tribunals (AFTs).

The AG branch’s letter has appended a long list of officers and jawans who have been awarded some sort of disability pension. It has divided the beneficiaries in 10 lists. These lists have been drawn up on the basis of which the soldiers were granted disability pension. “The cases have been listed after careful sifting of a huge volume of files,” said the AG’s letter sent out last month. The MoD has been at the receiving end of adverse judicial strictures passed by courts, citing “delay” in processing cases after the pronouncement of AFT judgments. The Army is looking to seek a stay on the judgments of various AFTs and wants petitions of similar nature to be clubbed.

The AG branch has asked the legal cells of the commands to monitor the cases in the respective high courts. Also, the legal cells will be vetting each case at the local level, while any ambiguity will be decided by the AG office.

Among the cases of disability that will be contested in court are those that are “neither attributable to nor aggravated” by military service; those who got “disability” just before retiring or taking premature retirement; had disability less than 20% at the time of release medical board (last medical board in service); etc.