The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court held that the Central Government cannot restrict disability-pension arrears to only three years before a claim is filed once a retired soldier’s entitlement has been legally recognized, reaffirming veterans’ rights to full pension benefits.
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court held that the Central Government cannot limit disability-pension arrears to only three years before the filing of a claim, once a retired soldier’s eligibility for the benefit has already been legally recognized.
In its June 4 decision, a division bench comprising Justices Sindhu Sharma and Shahzad Azeem affirmed an Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) order.
The court ruled that a former Army Naik is entitled to the rounded-off disability pension from 20% to 50% for life. While upholding the AFT’s November 10, 2022 order, the High Court made a slight modification directing payment to commence from October 1, 2001, instead of January 1, 1996.
The case concerned former Army Naik Ranjit Singh, who joined the Indian Army in September 1984 and was discharged in 2001 after completing his term of engagement. On discharge, the release medical board diagnosed him with “Bilateral Sensori Neural Deafness” and fixed his disability at 20% for two years. After this period, he was granted a disability pension.
The Central Government challenged the tribunal’s order, arguing that because Singh completed his service term (and was not medically boarded out), the rounded-off benefits should apply only from January 1, 2016, relying on a February 2018 policy circular. It also contended that any pension arrears should be calculated only from the date Singh approached the tribunal, and not from his original discharge date.
The High Court rejected these contentions. It noted that the entitlement of personnel who complete their term of engagement to receive rounded-off disability benefits is already settled by the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Ram Avtar.
The bench also relied on Union of India v. Sgt Girish Kumar, holding that once a person’s entitlement to a disability pension or its recomputation is established, arrears cannot be curtailed by restricting them to the three years immediately preceding the legal filing. The court further observed that the Supreme Court has already rejected arguments based on delay or limitation in such cases.
Similar developments followed in other cases. The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently dismissed Central Government challenges against AFT orders granting disability pensions to two additional veterans.
Earlier, On May 25, a division bench of Justices Harsimran Singh Sethi and Deepak Manchanda upheld an order granting disability pension and rounding off benefits from 30% to 50% for life to a former Army member who developed primary hypertension during service.
The court stated that since the individual was declared medically fit at the time of initial enrolment, any disability arising during service must be attributed to military service. It also held that unsubstantiated medical board reports cannot defeat a veteran’s right to these benefits.
Additionally, On May 29, the same bench upheld a disability pension and rounding-off benefits from 20% to 50% for life for a retired sergeant who developed Diabetes Mellitus Type-II after serving for 27 years.
The court reiterated that if a soldier was fit at the time of enlistment, any condition that emerges during service is presumed to be service-related.