Defence ministry told to withdraw appeals against disabled soldiers

The Supreme Court and high courts, besides legal luminaries have expressed anguish in the past over the tendency of the defence ministry to appeal against every verdict passed against it

PANEL FOUND LOWER LEVEL OFFICIALS RESISTING DIRECTIONS OF POLITICAL EXECUTIVE AND COURTS. LITIGATION WAS BEING UNDERTAKEN ‘BY WAY OF ADMINISTRATIVE EGOTISM’

CHANDIGARH : The ministry of defence (MoD) has finally issued instructions to withdraw appeals filed by it in the Supreme Court against disability benefits granted to soldiers by courts and tribunals.

The apex court and high courts besides legal luminaries have expressed anguish in the past over the tendency of the MoD to appeal against every verdict passed against it. The Supreme Court, in a plethora of recent decisions, asked the government to grant disability pensions to soldiers incurring disabilities, while in service. It also reminded the authorities that the rules are beneficent and liberal and soldiers must not be asked to prove the service-connection of their disabilities, since the same is a presumption under the law.

On instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then defence minister Manohar Parrikar set up a committee of experts to reduce litigation and streamline the system of redressal of such grievances. The committee submitted its report in 2015 and came down heavily on the MoD, saying that litigation was being undertaken “compulsively, unethically and by way of administrative egotism”.

The report asked the MoD to withdraw and concede all appeals on issues already settled by high courts and the Supreme Court.

It expressed concern over the ministry’s challenge to disability pensions, observing that stress and strain of military service was universally recognised in affecting and aggravating disabilities in soldiers. The committee found that lower level officials were resisting directions of the political executive and of courts, which was not a healthy sign.

Sources say while many recommendations were accepted in 2016, there still was resistance in issuing implementation letters by the ministry and it was only when defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman took a strict view of the matter in late 2018 that the files moved.

Earlier this year, a delegation led by member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar and two former members of the committee of experts, Major DP Singh, who suffered disability during the Kargil war, and high court lawyer Major Navdeep Singh, met the minister and she assured them of withdrawal orders in a month.

The instructions have been issued not only to withdraw pending appeals filed by the MoD but also to concede such ‘covered cases’ of disability pension filed by aggrieved litigants in the Supreme Court on a case to case basis.

Sources say that many other categories of cases besides disability pension are also covered for withdrawal as per the recommendations of the committee and the same will be implemented in batches along with other accepted recommendations.