‘Pathetic and shocking’, says AFT as 80-year-old war-wounded officer repeatedly made to approach courts for dues

Petitioner had served the nation for 26 years, sustained airburst shell injury in his left shoulder and seriously injured on the battlefield in Jammu and Kashmir

Photo for representation.

Tribune News Service

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, April 20

Coming down heavily on the Defence Ministry and the pension disbursing authorities for incorrect monetary recovery from an 80-year-old war-wounded officer, the Armed Forces Tribunal has ordered that the recovered amount be refunded and additional compensation be paid to him.

The petitioner had joined the Army in January 1964 and retired in November 1989 with 30 per cent disability for life and he got his legitimate dues in 1998 after the Delhi High Court’s intervention. In 2009, he moved the Tribunal for correction of his war injury pension. In 2014, he challenged certain recoveries made from his pension and the Tribunal also awarded him compensation of Rs 15,000.

In the present case filed in 2019, he challenged the recovery of Rs 61,796 and deduction of Rs 129 per month from his pension and also sought release of the long-pending compensation awarded to him earlier.

Observing that it is not the petitioner who is at fault and that recovery of Rs 61,796 was impermissible in law, the Tribunal’s Bench comprising Justice Sunita Gupta and Lt Gen BC Mathews set aside the recovery order and directed the authorities to refund the amount within 45 days. The Bench, however, upheld the deduction of Rs 129, terming it to be valid as it was the difference in the commutation of pension before and after revision.

Stating that it was a very shocking state of affairs that for compliance of every order the applicant had to known the doors of the court, the Bench also directed the authorities to pay the pending compensation, awarded in 2018, within four weeks, failing which the amount would be recovered from the salary of the defaulting official and be paid to the petitioner.

The petitioner had served the nation for 26 years, also sustained airburst shell injury in his left shoulder and seriously injured on the battlefield in Jammu and Kashmir while fighting on the front with his unit against Pakistani troops and is now more than 80 years of age, the Bench observed.

“If he is compelled to bear the financial burden of refund of payment received wrongfully for a long span of time due to mistake committed by the concerned authority and not because of any fault of his own, more particularly when he is primarily dependant on the pension, if such recovery after several years is allowed, same would be extremely iniquitous and not just and proper,” the Bench said. The present case depicts the pathetic tale of an 80-year old war veteran who has been compelled to knock the door of the courts time and again due to various acts of commission and omission by the respondents,” the Bench added.

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