MP asks govt to withdraw appeals in disability pension cases

Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar has urged Defence Minister Arun Jaitley to consider withdrawing pending appeals in court cases relating to disability pensions to benefit the armed forces personnel who opted for legal recourse.

In a letter to Jaitley, Chandrasekhar, a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on defence, also sought implementation of recommendations of an expert committee on reducing litigation and enhancing the grievance redressal mechanism.

A large number of cases relating to disability pension and filed by soldiers sustaining injuries in the line of duty are pending in courts.

Chandrasekhar said an official note by department of ex- servicemen welfare (DESW) in January, 2014 stating that appeal would be filed automatically in six categories of disability was withdrawn after he had taken up the matter with then Defence Minister A K Antony.
 

"Despite the former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's decision in January 2015, not to pursue nearly 4,000 disability pension cases pending against the Ministry of Defence in courts, in April 2016 new instructions were issued by the DESW to again automatically file appeals in all cases pertaining to disability pensions and benefits," Chandrasekhar wrote in his letter.

He said the committee of experts had submitted its report in November 2015 with 75 recommendations and despite the then Defence Minister Parrikar giving his go ahead for implementing them in August 2016, there has been no action taken.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on many occasions expressed the need to minimise litigation, stop frivolous appeals and to strengthen the Armed Forces Tribunals and this had led to the constitution of the Raksha Mantri's Committee of Experts for reduction of litigation in the Ministry of Defence," Chandrasekhar said.

The government has already decided to remove existing "anomalies" and come out with a specific percentage-based system for granting disability pensions to Army, Navy and Air Force personnel sustaining injuries in the line of duty.

The decision has been taken in view of the long-standing demand of the armed forces that the current system of determining disability pension needs an overhaul.

Official sources said the government has finalised a new slab-based system which is aimed at addressing most of the concerns of the armed forces that is expected to reduce litigation against the government.