In a significant ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the entitlement of a soldier’s family to liberalised family pension benefits, even if the soldier was killed by a fellow serviceman during a military operation. The court asserted that such a death must be treated as a “battle casualty,” and the bereaved family is entitled to the same benefits as those whose kin died in action.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the Union of India and others challenging a February 2022 order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which had directed the Ministry of Defence to consider granting liberalised family pension to Rukmani Devi. Her son, a member of the Indian Army, was deployed in Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir and was fatally shot by a fellow soldier on October 21, 1991.
A division bench comprising Justices Anupinder Singh Grewal and Deepak Manchanda dismissed the Centre’s appeal, including its objection on the grounds of delay, stating that pension entitlements are a continuing cause of action and not time-barred.
“It is manifest that a soldier deployed in a military operation, being shot by a fellow soldier, cannot in any manner be denied the benefits applicable to those soldiers who are killed in action,” the court observed.
The government had argued that the Armed Forces Tribunal erroneously relied on a previous judgment involving a soldier who died during Operation Parakram, whereas Rukmani Devi’s son had not participated in that operation. They also contended that there was an unjustified delay of over 25 years in filing the claim in 2018.
Rejecting these arguments, the High Court held that the soldier’s death during Operation Rakshak had already been recorded as a “battle casualty” under an Army Air Defence Records order issued in August 1992. The bench cited the Ministry of Defence’s January 2001 guidelines, which categorize all deaths, injuries, and accidents during notified military operations under “Category E”—thus qualifying for enhanced pension benefits.
The court reaffirmed that the liberalised family pension scheme, which offers higher compensation compared to ordinary pensions, is applicable in such cases where death occurs during sanctioned operations, regardless of the cause being enemy action or otherwise.
