Disability pension for Armed Forces personnel in India is payable where a disability is assessed as attributable to or aggravated by military service and satisfies the applicable pension regulations, entitlement rules and medical-board standards. The Armed Forces Tribunal is the principal forum for challenging denial of disability pension, rejection of attributability/aggravation, incorrect percentage assessment, denial...
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The Armed Forces Tribunal, commonly known as the AFT, is a specialised judicial forum created under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 to decide service disputes of Army, Navy and Air Force personnel, including retired personnel, dependants, heirs and successors in service-related matters. It also hears appeals arising from court martial findings, sentences and orders....
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Disability pension is not a benevolent concession; it is a legal recognition of the medical cost of service.By Adv. Govind BaliA disability pension is a pensionary benefit granted to armed forces personnel where a disability is attributable to or aggravated by military service. Indian courts have repeatedly held that a disability pension cannot be denied...
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Introduction The law on disability pension below 20% has often been trapped in a narrow administrative reading. A Medical Board assesses the disability at less than 20%, the pension authority treats the figure as decisive, and the claim for disability element is rejected. The process appears neat on paper. It is, however, far less satisfactory...
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NFU for Armed Forces: The Ongoing Supreme Court Case, Legal Issues and Why it matters The ongoing NFU case for Armed Forces officers concerns whether commissioned officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force should receive Non-Functional Upgradation, a financial upgradation benefit already available to several civilian Group ‘A’ services and CAPFs. In December 2016,...
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Abstract Disability Pension Disability pension in India has evolved from being a colonial-era discretionary grant to a constitutional entitlement grounded in human dignity and the rule of law. Initially governed by British military manuals and post-independence regulations that prioritized administrative convenience, the legal framework underwent a transformational shift beginning in the 1990s. Today, disability pension...
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Introduction Delhi High Court Champions Equality: HIV Status Not a Barrier to Promotion in Armed Forces In a landmark judgment delivered on 28 March 2025, the Delhi High Court decisively upheld the rights of HIV-positive personnel in India’s paramilitary forces, ruling that denial of promotions or termination solely on the ground of HIV status is...
Read MoreIntroduction to Army Rule 180 In a country as varied and actively democratic as India, natural justice and equity are the basic building blocks of all legal and procedural aspects. These principles ensure that fairness and accountability are maintained in all judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings. There are many articles and rules incorporating such principles, among...
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Introduction to Army Rule 51 The military justice system operates under a unique framework, balancing the dual imperatives of maintaining discipline within the armed forces and upholding the principles of justice. The Army Rules, 1954, framed under the Army Act, 1950, define a systematic procedural framework for the conduct of military trials. It guarantees that...
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Introduction Section 497 The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench clarified that its 2018 judgment decriminalizing adultery under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code does not affect court martial proceedings against armed forces personnel for adulterous conduct. The Bench stated that the Joseph Shine vs. Union of India judgment of 2018 did not address the provisions...
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