57 Years on, AFT orders pension for widow of soldier discharged from service in 1968 | Chandigarh News

CHANDIGARH: Nearly 57-year after a soldier was invalidated out of military on medical grounds, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has ruled that the widow of soldier, Lance Naik Umrawat Singh is entitled to arrears of invalid pension from 1968 and family pension from 2011.The government has been directed to release the benefits within three months.Division bench comprising Justice Sudhir Mittal, Judicial Member, and Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, Administrative Member of AFT Chandigarh bench passed these orders while deciding an application filed by Chander Pati, widow of the soldier.Lance Naik Umrawat Singh was enrolled in the Army on September 12, 1961, in a medically fit condition. He served with distinction during the 1965 Indo-Pak War and was awarded the Samar Sewa Star-65. However, prolonged deployment on the international border allegedly caused him severe mental stress, leading to a diagnosis of schizophrenic reaction. He was boarded out on December 17, 1968, after serving seven years and three months.Though his claim for disability pension was rejected, Singh later joined the Defence Security Corps (DSC) in 1972 but was discharged within months. He passed away on January 31, 2011. His widow subsequently approached the tribunal in 2018, seeking life-time arrears of invalid/disability pension and family pension from February 2011.Opposing the claim, the central government submitted that Singh had not completed the 15 years of qualifying service required under Regulation 132 of the Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961. It was further contended that his disability had been classified as “neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service” and assessed below 20%, thus disqualifying him from disability pension benefits. Officials also claimed that relevant records had been destroyed after the statutory retention period.After hearing all the parties, the tribunal held that Singh was entitled to invalid pension from December 18, 1968, until his death on January 31, 2011. Consequently, his widow qualifies for ordinary family pension from February 1, 2011. However, arrears will be restricted to three years prior to the filing of her petition in July 2018.Further citing the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling in Balbir Singh versus Union of India, the AFT made it clear that pension rights cannot be curtailed due to delayed litigation when statutory entitlement exists.