He was apparently caught by Chinese troops during the Indo-China war, tortured and then left half buried in the snow. The injuries that followed, forced him to get discharged from service.
Even after such an esteemed service, J George of Tirupati, who was posted in the North Eastern Frontier Area (NEFA) during the war, had to wage a bigger battle with the Army for his disability pension, which was fixed at a lower rate than what he was entitled to.
However, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has now ordered the revision of disability pension from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, castigating the Ministry of Defence for failing to comply with its earlier order for the same applicant.
In his application, George said that he was posted in the NEFA. His battalion was decimated by an enemy raid, in which he was tortured. He was rescued by the Indian Army and underwent treatment. But, in 1963, he was discharged from service on medical grounds.
When he approached the tribunal in 2011, it had decided that George was entitled to a disability pension for the ‘Psychoneurosis’ he was suffering from. The administrative member of the tribunal expanded the pension to 50 per cent in the order. However, he was paid only 20 per cent disability pension based on a circular of the Defence Ministry, which forced him to come back to the tribunal for remedy. The AFT castigated the ministry for failing to implement its previous order and asked the ministry to pay the ex-serviceman the augmented pension of 50 per cent.