Armed Force Tribunal quashes pension body order against physically challenged kin of personnel

Panchkula : Body had held that the kin were not eligible for pension after marriage.

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) here on Friday set aside an order of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts Pension (PCDA) denying family pension to physically challenged children, of retired armed forces personnel, on their marriage.

The Tribunal set aside the orders in the petition filed by one Balwinder Singh against the Defence authorities, who had denied him the pension. The AFT bench comprising Justice Rajesh Chandra and Lt Gen (retd) H S Panag quashed the orders after the petitioner argued that such an order was socially regressive.

The petitioner submitted before the Tribunal that in 1987 the Ministry of Defence through a Presidential sanction had issued a policy stating that physically challenged children of Defence personnel, who are unable to earn a living, shall be entitled to family pension for life, on the death of the concerned armed forces personnel.

Balwinder pleaded that such a benefit can't be taken away by a PCDA circular. The petitioner had brought before the Tribunal that he is the son of late sapper Darshan Singh, who had died in a road accident on November 19, 2000, while the petitioner was permanently disabled after getting injured in the same mishap.
He had also informed the Tribunal that the papers for grant of his family pension are not being processed on the ground that he is married, and as such, he is not entitled to family pension as per the circular issued by the office of PCDA(P) Allahabad.

The said circular had stated that disabled children of Defence personnel are ineligible for family pension as soon as they get married.

The petitioner had also brought before the Tribunal that the "thought-process of the respondents is socially regressive since marriage of a physically challenged individual is a social necessity to enable people to undertake daily routine activities and nowhere signifies that the person would now start having means of livelihood."

He also submitted before the Tribunal that the only issue that may be required to be examined before providing pension is as to whether the person has adequate means of livelihood.
The AFT on Friday allowed the petition and directed that the case be processed for grant of family pension by ignoring the marriage prohibition in the PCDA circular.

Source : Indian Express ( 9th Feb 2013)