Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 24

The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) disposed nearly 250 cases in two marathon sessions on September 23 and 24 by constituting a special Bench in view of the acute shortage of adjudicating members.

Most of the cases disposed off pertained to pensionary benefits of disabled soldiers. Justice Virender Singh, Chairperson, AFT, who is also a former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, sat with Vice Admiral AG Thapliyal for two days at Chandigarh to clear matters relating to the disabled soldiers and other retirees, some of them in their 80s and 90s.

The Bench directed the government to release disability benefits to disabled veterans whose claims had been rejected administratively by the authorities.

Many of the affected soldiers were veterans of various wars and military operations.

The Supreme Court in a plethora of decisions had asked the Central government to grant disability pensions to soldiers incurring diseases, while in service reminding that the rules are beneficent and liberal in nature and soldiers cannot be asked to prove service-connection of their disabilities since the same is a presumption under law.

Most Benches of the Armed Forces Tribunal in the country are virtually non-functional with just three Judicial Members being available out of the total sanctioned strength of seventeen.

These three Members will also retire by December 2019.

The Chandigarh Bench has the heaviest workload and pendency.

Justice Mohammad Tahir of the Chandigarh Bench has also been travelling to other Benches where no judicial member is available for disposing pending cases.