Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld a decision granting special family pension to the widow of an Army personnel who died of cardiac arrest while on casual leave, ruling that being on leave does not by itself mean that a serving soldier is no longer considered to be in service.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Amarinder Singh Grewal dismissed the Union government’s challenge against an earlier order of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Chandigarh, which had granted the widow special family pension.
Court explains casual leave status
The soldier died of cardiac arrest on January 17, 2017, on the first day of sanctioned casual leave that ran from January 16 to January 30. He had completed more than 17 years of military service.
The Union government argued that since he was not on active duty when he died, his death could not be considered attributable to military service.
The High Court rejected that argument, observing that the relevant question was whether the personnel continued to be in service at the time of death rather than whether he was actively performing military duties at that particular moment.
Widow entitled to special pension
The court also relied on an earlier Full Bench ruling which held that Army personnel on casual or annual leave are generally to be treated as being on duty, subject to applicable leave rules.
The Bench further noted the connection between the stress and strain of military service and the cardiac arrest in the case before it.
The Armed Forces Tribunal had earlier directed that the widow receive special family pension with effect from January 18, 2017, the day after her husband’s death. The High Court has now upheld that decision.
The ruling provides an important clarification on the pension rights of families of serving military personnel who die while on sanctioned leave.