Rakia Imran
On 30th January, 2025, the Supreme Court seated by a Double-Bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan expressed strong disapproval and criticized the Central government for repeatedly challenging disability pension claims filed by armed forces personnel through frivolous legal appeals.“We are of the view that the Government of India must evolve a policy. There has to be some scrutiny before a decision is taken to drag members of the armed forces to the Supreme Court,” the Court said.
The Supreme Court emphasized that once a member of the armed forces is granted disability pension by the Armed Forces Tribunal, they should not be unnecessarily subjected to prolonged legal battles by being dragged into further court proceedings.
While hearing an appeal initiated by the Central government against a retired Army soldier, the Supreme Court chose to defer the proceedings. The Court instructed the government to first disclose whether it has formulated or intends to introduce any policy framework concerning disability pension cases.
Case Name: Union of India and Ors. v. Sgt Rohitash Kumar Sharma (Retd)
Citation: C.A. No. 1577-1578/2022
Bench: Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Click here to access the order.