Armed Forces Tribunal imposes “exemplary” cost of Rs 2 lakh on authorities concerned for causing suffering to the widow

Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service

Granting special family pension to the widow of a soldier 37 years after his death during service, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has imposed an “exemplary” cost of Rs 2 lakh on the authorities concerned for causing suffering to the widow.

Naik Dharambir was enrolled into the Rajputana Rifles in 1975. While in service, he suffered from Hepatitis and died in 1987. His death certificate stated that his medical condition had been aggravated by the military service, making her widow eligible for special family pension, which is higher than ordinary pension.

However, the case of the soldier’s widow was processed for the grant of ordinary family pension by the Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Allahabad. Even the Records Office of the Rajputana Rifles mutely agreed to the award, which even the widow accepted on account of her illiteracy.

It was after 30 years that she came to know that keeping in view the circumstances of the death of her husband, she was entitled to higher pension.

In 2017, she sent a legal notice to the Records Office and pension authorities, seeking sanction of special family pension. But her claim was rejected, following which she moved the AFT in 2019.

During the pendency of the case, the Records Office wrote to the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) that she was entitled to special family pension, but the letter was rejected by PCDA on the grounds that she had been granted ordinary pension in 1988 and the appeal was now time-barred.

Pointing out that even though the widow’s claim was genuine, the PCDA was not acting upon the same, the Bench of Justice Sudhir Mittal and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh ruled that they deserve to be burdened with exemplary costs of Rs 2 lakh.

The Bench ruled that she was entitled to special family pension from the day her husband died along with full arrears.