‘Don’t go in circles’: Bombay High Court to Centre on slain Agniveer’s mother’s pension plea

A bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Hiten S Venegavkar noted that it had issued notice to the respondent defence authorities on January 17 this year.

The Centre’s lawyer sought time, stating that the relevant documents had been moved between Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune and that he had not yet received instructions from the concerned authority to file a reply.

“If you (respondent authorities) are going in rounds, you will go in a tizzy. Petitioner is seeking urgency. You have to reply,” Justice Ghuge orally remarked.

“After a passage of three months, he submits that the affidavit in reply will be filed after summer vacation. We find the said request to be a bit inconsiderate,” the HC noted.

The court also sought common affidavit in reply from authorities, including the Ministry of Defence, Chief of Army Staff department of Ex-servicemen’s welfare, cabinet secretary, and the Maharashtra Government by May 7 followed by a rejoinder by the petitioner and posted hearing to June 18.

‘Discriminatory, arbitrary scheme’

Naik enlisted in the Army in 2022 via the Agniveer scheme, introduced by the government in June that year. The programme overhauled recruitment for non-officer positions, limiting contracts to 4 years.

He died on May 9 last year in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch sector. His parents, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, worked as daily wage labourers in Mumbai’s construction industry.

In her plea, his mother contended that Agniveers and regular soldiers carry out the same tasks, face equivalent dangers, and offer identical sacrifices, yet receive unequal treatment in service benefits, especially upon death.

Through Advocate Prakash Ambedkar, she asserted that the scheme withholds post-service pensions and lasting welfare benefits afforded to regular soldiers, labelling it “discriminatory,” “arbitrary,” and the distinction between soldiers as “unreasonable,’ a breach of several constitutional fundamental rights.

The petition also sought from the court the directives for authorities to frame guidelines ensuring families of fallen Agniveer soldiers retain posthumous benefits and honours regardless of tenure, category, or entry mode.

The mother pointed out that a martyred Agniveer’s family gets ex-gratia and insurance payouts totalling around Rs 1 crore across various heads. However, the plea noted, they lack the regular family pension, lifetime healthcare, or social security extended to families of regular soldiers martyred in comparable field conditions.