After losing young son, a father fights for pension

Indian Military Veterans

After losing young son, a father fights for pension Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 4
The father of a young Lieutenant of the Armoured Corps who was killed in a military exercise in 2010 and subsequently declared a ‘battle casualty’ by the Army, is struggling to get his son’s rightful pensionary benefits released.

In the second round of litigation, GK Karol has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the decision of the Armed Forces Tribunal that had restricted the benefits of arrears of pension.

After the demise of his son and the rejection of his claim for liberalised dependant family pension in 2011, Karol had approached the AFT in February 2012 when the Ministry of Defence had not treated the death of the young officer as a battle casualty or having occurred during battle training exercise or inoculation.

Agreeing with his contentions, an AFT Bench comprising Justice Rajesh Chandra and Air Marshal SC Mukul directed the payment of the correct type of pension but restricted the arrears to only a period of six months prior to filing of the petition by the father.

Challenging the AFT’s decision, Karol pointed out that as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court, full arrears are to be granted in case the amount is illegally held back by the government, and at best, in case of an inordinate delay on a legal point of interpretation, the arrears can be restricted to a period of three years prior to filing of the petition. The HC has issued a notice of motion to the government and the AFT on the petition.

The petitioner has pointed out that the Supreme Court and High Courts have already quashed similar orders restricting the arrears and “rather than following law laid down by Constitutional Courts, the tribunal in a strange form of dissidence from laid down judicial norms, has started restricting arrears of poor military litigants to only a period of six months”.

He contended that such an approach went against judicial decorum and consistency and that no other court or bench of the AFT is restricting arrears to a period of six months.

Legal battle

• GK Karol's son, a young Lieutenant of the Armoured Corps, was killed in a military exercise in 2010. The officer was subsequently declared a 'battle casualty' by the Army
• Karol has now moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the decision of the Armed Forces Tribunal that had restricted the benefits of arrears of his son's pension