Forced out after 7 years in Army, court grants pension relief to soldier’s widow 4 decades on

The Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld an invalid pension relief for a soldier who was invalided out of service after seven years, rejecting the 10-year service mandate.

A soldier who joined the Army in 1971 was invalided out of service after seven years. Nearly 42 years later, his widow approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), seeking pension benefits available to personnel forced to leave service because of permanent incapacity. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has now held that such pension cannot be denied solely because the soldier had not completed 10 years of qualifying service.

Justices Harsimran Singh Sethi and Minderjeet Yadav were hearing a petition filed by the Union of India challenging the February 20, 2025 order of the AFT, which had granted Hakam Singh the benefit of invalid pension during his lifetime and ordinary family pension after that to his widow.

“Once, as per the settled principle of law settled in P A Thomas, it is well established that the invalid pension is admissible even prior to the completion of 10 years of qualifying service,” the high court said on September 3, referring to a Supreme Court ruling, and rejected the Union’s objection based on the deceased soldier’s length of service.

The dispute dates back to Singh’s Army service. According to the court order, he was enrolled in the Indian Army on August 18, 1971, and was forced to leave service in 1978 under the Army Rules, 1954. He was granted invalid retirement gratuity at the time. The dispute later centred on whether he was also entitled to pension after leaving service, despite having served for less than 10 years.

The Centre opposed the pension claim on several grounds. It told the high court that the relevant service and medical records relating to Singh had been destroyed in 2008 after the expiry of the prescribed retention period. According to the Centre, there were no surviving records to establish the nature of his disability, its percentage, or whether the disability was attributable to or aggravated by military service – matters it said were essential for granting invalid pension.

Justices Harsimran Singh Sethi and Minderjeet Yadav said the Centre’s objections were contrary to settled law.

The government also argued that Singh had not completed the minimum 10 years of service required for invalid pension. On this basis, it said the tribunal was wrong in granting invalid pension during his lifetime and ordinary family pension to his widow. It was also argued that any benefit of invalid pension could only be granted prospectively from January 4, 2019, in view of a government instruction issued on July 16, 2020.

10-year service mandate alone can’t defeat claim

Rejecting the Centre’s objection regarding the 10-year qualifying service requirement after examining the legal position laid down by the Supreme Court, the high court said that Rules 38 and 49 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 had been amended on January 4, 2019. The amended provisions contemplated the grant of invalid pension to a government servant who became permanently incapacitated and retired before completing 10 years of qualifying service, subject to the conditions prescribed under the rules.

The high court also referred to a clarification issued by the Centre on February 12, 2019, which stated that the 10-year qualifying-service condition would not apply to a government servant retiring on invalid pension on account of bodily or mental infirmity under the relevant provision.

Taking note of the Supreme Court’s interpretation, the high court said the position was settled that invalid pension was admissible even before completion of 10 years of qualifying service. “Even if an officer is invalided out prior to the completion of 10 years of service, he/she is entitled for the grant of invalid pension,” it said.

The ruling was not a finding that every soldier invalided out before completing 10 years would automatically qualify for pension. Rather, the court held that the 10-year service requirement, by itself, could not defeat an invalid pension claim where the other applicable conditions were satisfied.

The Centre also argued that the widow approached the tribunal after a 42-year delay. The high court rejected delay as a ground to deny pension, noting that pension is a continuing cause of action. It also rejected the argument that invalid pension could be granted only from January 4, 2019, noting that a coordinate bench had already held in January 2025 that the benefit could extend to soldiers invalided out before that date.

The bench said the Union’s objections were contrary to settled law and noted that its counsel had failed to rebut the applicable legal principles or the relevant facts. It found no perversity in the AFT’s February 20, 2025 order and dismissed the Union’s challenge.