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India
The Supreme Court on Thursday reprimanded the Centre for repeatedly dragging retired armed forces personnel to court and called on the government to create a policy to address this issue.
Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan expressed concern over the practice of appealing decisions from the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), particularly in cases where veterans had been granted disability pensions.
The bench questioned the need to bring veterans who had served 15 to 20 years into lengthy legal battles after receiving rightful relief from the AFT.
“When an army personnel has worked for many years and has suffered a disability, and the Armed Forces Tribunal orders the payment of a disability pension, why should these individuals be dragged to the Supreme Court?” the bench asked.
The Court emphasized the need for the Union government to develop a clear policy that would include proper scrutiny before filing such appeals. “We believe the government must come up with a policy that ensures there is a review process before dragging armed forces members into Supreme Court proceedings,” the bench stated.
The justices also noted that the Centre’s actions were undermining the morale of the armed forces, especially when appeals appeared to be frivolous. “If the government is not willing to frame a policy, we will have to impose heavy costs on cases where we find the appeals to be without merit,” the bench warned the Centre’s counsel.
The case before the Supreme Court involved the Centre challenging the AFT’s decision to grant disability pension to a retired radio fitter.
Court’s strong comments indicate frustration over the government’s approach to appeals and underscore the need for better handling of such cases involving veterans.
