SC slaps Rs 50k cost on Centre for appeal against pension to soldier’s widow

Taking exception to the Centre filing an appeal against an order of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) granting a Liberalised Family Pension (LFP) to the widow of a soldier who died of cardiac arrest during a counter-terrorism patrol close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed it to shell out Rs 50,000 as costs.

"In a case like this, the respondent (widow) ought not to have been dragged to this court and the decision-making authority of the appellants (Centre) ought to have been sympathetic to the widow of a deceased soldier who died in harness. Therefore, we propose to impose costs quantified as Rs 50,000," a Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka said, dismissing the Centre’s appeal.

The Bench – which also included Justice AG Masih -- directed the Centre to pay the amount to the soldier’s widow in two months.

The deceased -- Naik Inderjeet Singh -- was posted with his battalion in Jammu and Kashmir as part of Operation Rakshak. He was part of an Area Domination Patrol for domination of the Rangwar gap in the proximity of LC. He was doing duty from 1 am to 3.30 am.

The certificate issued by the Commanding Officer recorded that the deceased was working in extreme climatic conditions on the date of his death. It also recorded that he was part of Operation Rakshak and was also part of the routine Area Domination Patrol close to LC. There were extreme climatic conditions at that place.

When the deceased became breathless, his condition was such that he needed immediate evacuation. However, immediate evacuation by air could not be done due to bad weather conditions. Ultimately, he was taken on foot, and when the team carried him to Chowkibal's MI room, he was declared dead on January 23, 2013.

His death was initially classified as a "battle casualty" but later reclassified as a "physical casualty" attributable to military service. While his widow received all terminal benefits, including a special family pension, she was denied the Liberalised Family Pension (LFP). As a result, she filed a petition with the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).

The AFT ruled in her favour and ordered the payment of LFP along with arrears from January 2013, as well as an ex-gratia lumpsum amount typically payable in cases of battle casualties. The Centre and the Army subsequently challenged the AFT's decision in the Supreme Court, which upheld the AFT order.