NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has reaffirmed the significance of disability pensions for soldiers while saying that the strains and stresses of military life come with inherent risks.
The court, upholding the grant of disability pension to two former soldiers, also emphasised that the possibility of disease and disability is an inescapable reality for those who commit themselves to the service of the nation.
A division bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Ajay Digpaul delivered a poignant observation saying that the bravest of soldiers is prone, given the conditions in which he serves the nation, to fall prey to bodily ailments which, at times, may be disabling in nature, rendering him unable to continue in military service.
“In such circumstances, the least that the nation can do, by way of recompense for the selfless service that the soldier has lent it, is to provide comfort and solace during the years that remain,” the court said.
Furthermore, the court said the provisions such as disability pensions exist precisely to offer financial support to those whose health is compromised due to military service.
Questioning whether the sacrifices of soldiers can ever be truly repaid, the bench said, “Can anything that the nation and we as its citizens, give to these true sons of the motherland, ever be too much?”
The matter pertained to appeals filed by the Union of India challenging the Armed Forces Tribunal’s (AFT) decision to grant disability pensions to two ex-servicemen.
One of them, Gawas Anil Madso, had served in the Indian Army since 1985 and was discharged in 2015 after being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM). A similar ruling was made in favour of Amin Chand, who joined the Army in 2005 and was due to retire in 2020. Before his retirement, he was diagnosed with Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease in his right lower limb.