10 months short of eligible service, Army veteran gets second pension: Here’s why

Soldier’s second innings turned into pension battle

• Manoranjan Ozah, a resident of Assam’s Nagaon district, first served in the Indian Army as an electrical mechanical engineer before retiring on August 31, 2001. But retirement did not end his military service.
• In 2005, he joined the Defence Security Corps, a wing primarily manned by ex-servicemen tasked with protecting military installations and continued serving there until March 31, 2019.
• By the end of his DSC tenure, Ozah had completed 14 years, one month and 28 days of service, missing the 15-year benchmark for a second pension by only 10 months and two days.
• Despite the marginal shortfall, defence authorities denied him pension benefits and instead granted him service gratuity and ‘Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity’.

Govt claimed ‘dual benefit’

The Centre opposed Ozah’s claim on the ground that condoning the deficiency for a second pension would amount to giving “dual benefits” to the same individual.

Before the tribunal, the government argued that various departmental circulars clarified that there could be no condonation of shortfall in cases involving second pensions. According to the authorities, such relaxation was meant only for personnel who would otherwise be left without any pension at all.

Ozah then approached the AFT seeking condonation of the shortfall under Regulation 125 of the Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961.

Armed Forces Tribunal granted relief

• The AFT ruled in favour of the retired DSC personnel and directed authorities to condone the deficiency of 10 months and two days in his service.
• The tribunal also ordered the issuance of a corrigendum to the ‘Pension Payment Order’ and directed payment of arrears within four months.
• It further said that failure to release the dues within the stipulated period would attract 6 per cent interest.
• Following this, the Central government challenged the order before the Gauhati High Court.

Supreme Court verdict changed everything

• Deputy Solicitor General R K D Choudhury informed the court that the Central government was no longer pressing the petition because of a recent Supreme Court judgment in Union of India vs Balakrishnan Mullikote.
• The Supreme Court had held that where the shortfall in qualifying service is one year or less, an employee can seek condonation under pension regulations.
• It also clarified that a second pension earned through service in the Defence Security Corps is a separate and independent right from the first Army pension.
• Taking note of the Supreme Court ruling, the Gauhati High Court dismissed the Centre’s writ petition as “not pressed”.

Why judgment matters

The ruling is likely to have far-reaching implications for ex-servicemen across India who rejoin service through the DSC after retirement from the Army.

Many former soldiers have faced rejection of second pension claims due to small deficiencies in qualifying service, despite spending years in uniform during their second stint.

The judgment reinforces the principle that pension rules should be interpreted in a manner that advances welfare for retired servicemen rather than defeating legitimate claims on technical grounds.