The Centre assured the Supreme Court that cadets discharged due to training disabilities will now get ECHS medical benefits without subscription fees. The court also called for better insurance and higher ex gratia payments.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday recorded the Centre’s assurance that all cadets discharged from military academies because of disabilities suffered during training will now get medical facilities under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS).
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Prashant Kumar Mishra was informed by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that from August 29, all such cadets have been included under the ECHS. She also said that the government has decided to waive off the one-time subscription fee.
Taking note of this, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to complete the registration process preferably by September 15. The court also appointed senior advocate Rekha Palli as amicus curiae in the case.
The bench noted,
“The government of India Ministry of Defence Department of Serviceman Welfare has extended medical facility in the form of ECHS to all invalidated outboarded cadets, without charging any subscription fee in as much as the one time subscription fee of Rs 1,20,000 which is currently payable by officers may not be paid by such invalidated/out boarded cadets.”
The bench further said,
“We appreciate the positive response from the respondents in so far as extending the medical facility for treatment in the form of ECHS scheme to the invalidated and outboarded cadets. The details of the said scheme may be placed on record.”
The Supreme Court also discussed monetary benefits. It observed that the ex gratia amount being paid since 2017 should be enhanced, especially considering inflation and rising costs.
On the insurance scheme for these cadets, the court remarked that it may not be sufficient and called for efforts to increase the insurance cover.
The bench also highlighted the need for reassessment of cadets for resettlement opportunities and asked the Centre to prepare a scheme for medical reassessment.
It added,
“These are educated people and they have cleared the entrance exam. They are capable of doing some or the other kind of job. Not as ex-serviceman but if some sort of desk job can be given as far as possible.”
ASG Bhati informed the court that in case of a cadet’s death, a one-time ex gratia payment of Rs 12.5 lakh and Rs 9,000 per month is given to the family.
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She further explained,
“From 1992 onwards Air force Army and Navy they have their own insurance which is like a subscription based insurance. So cadets are included in those. There is the army group insurance fund. Monthly insurance premium is paid by service personnel.”
After hearing the submissions, the court posted the matter for October 7.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had stressed that “braveheart cadets” must not be discouraged by injuries or disabilities suffered during training. It had asked the Centre to look into providing them with suitable insurance coverage.
This suo motu case was taken up by the court after a media report on August 12 highlighted the hardships faced by such cadets.
The report revealed that since 1985, nearly 500 officer cadets had been medically discharged from India’s premier military institutes like the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Military Academy (IMA). Many of them now face heavy medical expenses with only limited ex gratia payments.
According to the report, in NDA alone around 20 cadets were discharged between 2021 and July 2025 because of disabilities incurred during training.
The report also underlined their difficulties since they are not given the “ex-servicemen” (ESM) status, unlike soldiers who get disabled during service.
As a result, the cadets were unable to access free treatment under the ECHS at military hospitals and empanelled private hospitals. Instead, they only received ex gratia of up to Rs 40,000 per month depending on the severity of disability, which was insufficient even for basic needs.
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