NEW DELHI: Invoking its complete powers under Article 142, the Supreme Court ordered the re-induction of Priyanka Saxena, a former Short Service Commissioned IAF officer who left after 10 years in 2013 and became a war widow in 2021. The bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made clear the order would not be a precedent. The court observed that her late husband’s service to the nation could not be ignored.
It noted Saxena served before Wing Commander Harshit Sinha, her husband, died in a MiG-21 Bison crash near Jaisalmer Airfield on December 24, 2021, leaving two minor daughters.
Holding that no policy covered her, the court said her SSC service must be given weightage and she need not undergo fresh pre-commission training required for other war widows. “The appellant’s past service ought to have been given weightage,” it said.
The court added: “This is a case of the appellant becoming eligible on both counts; her being an ex-Air Force officer, and she being a war widow of an Air Force officer.”