The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the family of an Army officer who died in his sleep inside a bunker on the international border in a notified operational area is entitled to Liberalised Family Pension. The court upheld the earlier order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).
In March 2023, the AFT in Chandigarh had enhanced pension benefits for Anuradha Saini, the widow of Major Sushil Kumar Saini. A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Vikas Suri, in a recent order, upheld the tribunal’s decision.
Liberalised Family Pension, granted to soldiers who die in the line of duty, is higher than the ordinary family pension.
The Centre had challenged the AFT ruling, arguing that the enhanced pension benefits could not be granted as the soldier had died while sleeping inside a bunker, which, according to the Union government, could not be treated as death in an operational area. The Centre also said that even if the death was linked to military service, only Special Family Pension and not Liberalised Family Pension was admissible.
The court stated that the officer was deployed along the Indo-Pak border in an operational area notified under Operation Rakshak and relied on the findings of a Court of Inquiry.
After the officer’s death, a Court of Inquiry was ordered to determine the cause of death and whether it was attributable to military service. It was agreed by both sides that the inquiry had concluded that the death was attributable to military service and occurred while he was performing bona fide military duty during Operation Rakshak, the bench observed.
“Once this fact has been conceded, it cannot be said that the death of the respondent’s husband did not occur while performing duties in an operational area and be treated as non-attributable to military service, particularly when Operation Rakshak had been ordered by the Government of India,” the bench said.
The court also took note of the circumstances highlighted by the widow, including that her husband was suffering from hypertension while performing duties on the border. On the day of his death, there was an infiltration attempt involving 25 Bangladeshis trying to cross into Pakistan.
The bench noted that the case fell under Category E(1), which covers deaths during operations specially notified by the government. It noted that the officer died inside a bunker while posted at an international border under Operation Rakshak.
According to records, on the intervening night of May 12 and 13, 1991, Major Saini inspected the border posts under his responsibility and later rested in his bunker. Around 2 am, he received information about the apprehension of 25 Bangladeshis trying to cross over to Pakistan. He instructed Subedar V V K Rao to handle the situation, escort them to the border, and submit a report.
Subedar Rao later visited the bunker and briefed Major Saini. After appreciating his efforts, the Major went to sleep. On the morning of May 13, his assistant found him unconscious in the bunker. He was taken to the military hospital in Amritsar, where doctors declared him dead.
Initially, Major Saini’s wife was granted ordinary family pension and informed that his death was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service, with the cause stated as acute myocardial infarction. Her request for higher pension was rejected.
However, after the Court of Inquiry held the death to be attributable to military service, she again sought Liberalised Family Pension. The AFT ruled in her favour, and the high court has now upheld that decision.
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