HC upholds full disability pension arrears for ex-serviceman

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has reaffirmed the central govt must act as a "model employer" by ensuring timely and complete disbursal of disability pension to eligible ex-servicemen, without unjustified delays or restrictions on arrears.The court dismissed the central govt's appeal to an order passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal, upholding the grant of arrears from Jan 1, 1996, along with the benefit of rounding off the disability percentage of a disabled ex-serviceman. A division bench comprising Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Yashvir Singh Rathor observed that denying or postponing rightful pension benefits violated the principle of fairness expected from the govt. The court emphasised that once entitlement is established, the benefits must be extended from the due date, regardless of when the claim is formally made. The case under consideration involved the husband of the respondent, who served in the Army for more than 22 years after his enrolment in 1965 and was discharged in 1987. Though medically fit at the time of joining, he later developed a disability linked to his service. The tribunal granted arrears with revised disability pension calculations — 20% (rounded off) between 1996 and 2002, and 50% thereafter until 2015. Rejecting central govt's plea to limit arrears to 2016 onwards, the high court cited Supreme Court judgments, reiterating that pension is a legal right and not a discretionary benefit. It noted that govt policies already provide for arrears from 1996 or 2006 to eligible ex-servicemen. Finding no legal or factual error in the tribunal's decision, the high court concluded that there was no justification for interference and dismissed the petition.
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