SC takes cognisance of plight of cadets suffering disability during training; hearing on Monday

Taking suo motu cognisance of a media report highlighting the plight of cadets medically discharged from military institutes due to disabilities suffered during training, the Supreme Court has decided to take up the issue.

Unlike disabled soldiers, who were entitled to ex-servicemen (ESM) status, all that these officer cadets get now is an ex gratia payment of up to Rs 40,000 per month depending on the extent of disability, which falls far short of their basic needs.

The matter is listed for hearing on Monday before a Bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna which chose to take note of a media report highlighting the disability suffered by cadets, who were once part of training at the National Defence Academy (NDA) and the Indian Military Academy (IMA).

According to the media report in an English daily, there were around 500 officer cadets medically discharged from military training institutes such as NDA, IMA since 1985 after the incurred varying degrees of disability during training.

The report flagged their ex gratia monthly payment was awfully insufficient to meet the medical expenses. At the NDA alone, there are around 20 such cadets, who were medically discharged in just five years, between 2021 and July 2025, the report stated. It sought to highlight the plight of these cadets because as per rules, they are not entitled to ESM status, which would have made them eligible under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) for free treatment at military facilities and empanelled hospitals, since their disabilities took place during training before they were commissioned as officers.