SC pulls up govt for 'denying' disabled soldiers their benefits
The Supreme Court of India has criticized the government for repeatedly litigating against disabled soldiers to deny them pension and disability benefits. The court dismissed over 270 appeals, noting that the government ignored its own internal recommendations to stop such litigation.
Why it matters
The ruling highlights systemic issues in how the Indian government handles legal disputes with its military personnel, particularly regarding welfare benefits.
NEW DELHI: Quoting Raksha Mantri 2015 Report, which admitted that "many disabled soldiers in India are still denied disability benefits on hyper-technical reasons", Supreme Court has pulled up Centre and the defence ministry for litigating against them in all forums of the judiciary - from tribunals to HCs and SC. It also highlighted that govt filed appeals after a long time in most of the cases.A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe noted that Raksha Mantri Report had recommended the immediate withdrawal of appeals pertaining to disability and pensionary benefits pending against soldiers with disabilities but said the recommendation had not been faithfully implemented.
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