Why are so many cases relating to disability pension flooding the courts

On July 1, a division Bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed around 300 appeals filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) against judgements granting disability benefits to Armed Forces personnel.

Referring to several past verdicts by the Supreme Court and different High Courts, the Bench observed that grant of disability benefits “is not an act of generosity, but a rightful and just acknowledgement of the sacrifices in the form of disabilities/disorders suffered during the course of their military service and a measure that upholds the State’s responsibility towards its soldiers, who have served the nation with courage and devotion.”

In the past few months, hundreds of such cases filed by the ministry and the army have already been dismissed by the High Courts all across the country, with the Delhi High Court even warning the ministry of costs in case it continues with such litigation. The Supreme Court has already held that disability that was not detected or recorded at the time of joining the Armed Forces is deemed to be attributable to military service unless proved otherwise by the competent authority.

The courts have reiterated that it is of paramount importance that medical boards record clear and cogent reasons in support of their medical opinions. Such reasoning would not only enhance transparency but also assist the competent authority in adjudicating these matters with greater precision, ensuring that no prejudice is caused to either party.

Cryptic and unreasoned assessment defeats the purpose behind the constitution of the medical boards and also leaves the Courts without adequate material to effectively adjudicate the matter before them.

The root cause of litigation lies in disorders already covered by rules and even judgements not being attributed to military service due to administrative oversight or fault on part of the medical boards or pension sanctioning authorities. Thus begins a long drawn litigation process.

The current cycle of controversy over litigation involving disability benefits goes back over a decade. Here is a timeline of how the situation unfolded over the years: 

April 2014: BJP Manifesto talks about minimizing appeals filed by the government against disabled soldiers and veterans. Prime Minister Modi also deprecates filing of appeals against disabled soldiers by the government in one of his election speeches.

Dec 2014: About 900 appeals filed by the previous UPA government in the Supreme Court (SC) against verdicts by the Armed Forces Tribunal and the High Courts (HC) that were in favour of disabled soldiers dismissed on a single day by the top court.

July 2015: The Prime Minister takes a grim view of MoD challenging verdicts favouring disabled soldiers, widows and old pensioners and tasks the then defence minister, Manohar Parrikar to take steps for withdrawing such litigation. Parrikar constitutes a high-level committee of experts directly under him to objectively recommend measures for reducing litigation.

Nov 2015: Parrikar comes down heavily on what experts had termed as “ego-fuelled” litigation initiated by the MoD and defence services against their own employees and former employees. The committee under him recommends withdrawal of appeals in all matters settled by the SC and HCs, especially those involving disabled soldiers. The Committee also points out the intrinsic link between stress and strain of military service resulting in aggravation of disabilities amongst soldiers and also its effect on mental health and asks the MoD and defence officers to be more sensitive. Parrikar’s committee also notes the effect of stress on the lifespan of troops as compared to civilian counterparts. It notes the effect of frequent transfers and unsettled life, regimented living, reduced freedoms, inability to take care of domestic commitments, 24 hours deemed duty, living away from family, etc, on health and medical conditions such as heart diseases and psychiatric issues.

April 2018: The Supreme Court slams the Ministry of Defence in challenging matters already covered and settled. In a detailed judgment, the court calls out the negative approach of the ministry in burdening the courts and wasting public money on frivolous litigation. A fine of Rs one lakh is also imposed on the MoD.

Sept 2018: The then defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, issues orders to MoD not to challenge pensionary matters already settled in favour of disabled soldiers by judgments of the SC and HCs and asks officers to give up their “prestige based" litigation.

February 2019: A high-level committee in the Ministry of Law also takes note of filing of appeals by MoD against disabled soldiers and directs withdrawal of such appeals to avoid adverse orders. Sitharaman immediately directs the withdrawal of the last such pending appeals and posts the decision on social media.

March 2022: The SC expresses its “displeasure" and again passes strictures against the MoD for filing appeals in settled matters of disability pension.

Early 2023: Faced with non-implementation of its orders for years together, the Armed Forces Tribunal issues a series of strong orders, including arrest warrants, against officers of the Defence Accounts Department.

July-August 2023: The Defence Accounts Department takes up the matter with the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare in the MoD and after seeking opinion of the Judge Advocate General’s Department and senior law officers, it is decided to again start challenging verdicts of the AFT in the HCs and SC rather than implementing existing verdicts. Some officials in the know of events claim that while seeking legal opinion, the previous decisions of the defence minister and the law ministry were not disclosed to the senior law officers of the government.

September 2023: MoD modifies the pension rules by introducing the ‘Entitlement Rules for Casualty Pension and Disability Compensation Award to Armed Forces Personnel, 2023’, which drastically redefines the eligibility criteria for disability pensions and narrows the scope of eligibility by removing certain disabilities and their onset causes.

October 2023: The MoD, in total reversal of policy decisions taken by defence ministers in the past, directs the Army to file writ petitions challenging all orders passed in favour of disabled soldiers by Armed Forces Tribunals. Legal experts say that these are the matters on the same subjects wherein it was directed that no further appeals would be filed and pending appeals were withdrawn.

Recently, the Ministry of Defence, in response to a question, submitted in Parliament that in accordance with the existing rules of business, all judgements that are “against government policy” are contested till the highest judicial forum.

Thousands of cases are now being filed by government lawyers against disabled soldiers all across the country, and this includes matters already settled by the Supreme Court and in which the courts have made strong remarks against the defence ministry and also imposed heavy costs on it.

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