CHANDIGARH: The Supreme Court (SC) has yet again made strong observations on the tendency of the ministry of defence (MoD) of filing appeals by ‘default’ against old pensioners.
While dealing with an appeal filed by the MoD and the Army against pension to a disabled jawan, Havildar Dhanbir Singh of the Rajputana Rifles, who was granted relief by the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), the top court has asked the authorities to “introspect and find out where the fault lies within themselves”. The bench comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Abhay S Oka observed that the AFT had granted the legitimate relief of disability pension to the soldier based on law laid down by the SC, that too after a wait of two decades after his retirement, and yet an appeal was filed by the authorities without examining whether it was a fit case to challenge or not.
