New letter on ex-servicemen status for boarded out recruits

This is in relation to this earlier post of 23 March 2013 on the subject of grant of ex-serviceman status to boarded-out recruits in receipt of disability pension.

The Government, by way of a clarification had only granted the said status to recruits boarded out after 01 Feb 2006, which in my opinion was incongruous and to which my objection was recorded in the following terms in the earlier post:

“...Though the subject has been clarified in the above terms, in my opinion, boarded out recruits in receipt of disability pension would ipso facto be included in the pre-existing definitions in force prior to 01 Feb 2006 too since unlike officer trainees, recruits are entitled to pay and disability pensionary benefits as applicable to regular Sepoys and are also under the purview of the Army Act and hence cannot treated differently than others. Even otherwise, the MoD clarification issued on 01 Feb 2006 did not contain any cut-off date for the applicability of the clarification which has now been superimposed through back-door...”

Thankfully, the Ministry of Defence has now issued a clarification in consistent with the view as above that boarded-out recruits in receipt of disability pension shall be treated as ex-servicemen irrespective of the date of discharge.

The Government letter can be accessed by clicking here.