PIL opposing the Center’s attempt to overturn decisions awarding military soldiers disability compensation

The Punjab and Haryana High Court is scrutinizing the Ministry of Defence’s recent decision to contest almost every ruling made by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) that awarded disability compensation to service members.

In its judgment dated February 26, a Division Bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji took up a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought by the Ex-Services Grievances Cell, Mohali, and requested a response from the Central Government.

According to the PIL, the new ministry policy would “flood the courts with en masse, unethical, damaging and unnecessary litigation against disabled soldiers and old pensioners,” because it is based on the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s opinion.

In addition to burdening the exchequer and handicapped troops, this is a flagrant violation of the Prime Minister’s directives and high-level committees of the Law and Defence Ministries to put a stop to such litigation, the PIL said.

The PIL also noted that the Defence Ministry withdrew petitions from the Supreme Court in 2019 as a result of the PM’s involvement, but that it is now inundating the courts with applications that are precisely the same.

Additionally, it has been claimed that the government has limited its legal challenges to rulings involving disability brought on by carelessness, drunkenness, or drug misuse, and that the stress and strain of military duty shortens soldiers’ lives.

According to the PIL, the supreme court has previously decided that soldiers’ impairments should be given the benefit of the doubt regardless of how they were declared disabled or whether they happened in a peacetime or combat zone.