Former Naik gets war injury pension after 28-yr struggle
Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 11
After a long wait of 28 years, former Naik Jarnail Singh, 62, who had to amputate his leg and thumb and fractured his forearms during an exercise at the Naraingarh firing range, has finally received his war injury pension.
Even after the order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) in 2017 and its execution application decided in August 2019, he had to wait and the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) ordered the release of the arrears of the last 28 years recently.
Jarnail, a resident of Ludhiana, was enrolled in the Army on December 10, 1974. While being posted in 268 Engineer Bridge Regiment, he suffered injuries during a Battle Inoculation Camp at Naraingarh on September 18, 1990.
“On their comeback trail, the soldiers had to cross the Ghaggar. The water had risen. The soldiers formed a human chain while crossing it. But Jarnail got washed away and suffered injuries,” said Rajesh Sehgal, counsel for Jarnail Singh.
He was rushed to the Western Command Hospital in Chandimandir (Panchkula) and was invalided out of the Army on September 15, 1992, with 100 per cent disability. Soon after, he started getting the disability pension only. The re-survey medical board in 2002 assessed the disability at 100 per cent permanently.
When he served a legal notice in 2010 for war injury pension, even 268 Engineer Regiment had taken up his case for declaring it a battle casualty so that he could get higher pension.
During the case at the AFT, the government submitted that Jarnail sustained injury while he was crossing the Ghaggar and not while participating in the Battle Inoculation Training. “Since the casualty that caused injury has been opined as attributable to service in peace area, hence the applicant is eligible for disability pension for 100 per cent disablement,” the government replied.
However, the Armed Forces Tribunal observed that Jarnail was a battle casualty as per a special Army order and his commanding officer had also opined the same and declared that he was entitled to war injury pension with effect from 1992.
The rate of war injury element for 100 per cent disability is equal to the reckonable emoluments last drawn.
