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Rukmani Devi’s son was a soldier in the Indian Army and was on duty under Operation Guard in Jammu and Kashmir. He died of a bullet fired by a fellow soldier on October 21, 1991.
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has said that a soldier posted in the military operation cannot be denied the benefits of the martyred soldier when he was shot by his fellow soldier. The Petitioners Union of India and others challenged the order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) on February 22, 2022, directed to consider defendant Rukmani Devi’s claim of liberal family pension. Rukmani Devi’s son was a soldier in the Indian Army and was on duty under Operation Guard in Jammu and Kashmir. He died of a bullet fired by a fellow soldier on October 21, 1991. A division bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Deepak Manchanda dismissed the Center’s plea to refuse to give pension to the Goddess on several grounds on several grounds on July 16, including delay in filing the claim.
Court rejected the matter of delay
The court said that it is clear that a soldier posted in a military campaign, who has been shot by a fellow soldier, cannot be denied the benefits in any way that apply to the soldiers who are martyred. The court did not get any merit in the argument that there was a delay in filing the application, because a pension, whose employee who has served the country, is entitled every month. The AFT directed the Ministry of Defense to consider the claim of the family pension liberalized by the Devi. Lortized family pension provides more benefits than general family pension. The petitioners’ counsel said that on 4 September 2017, the tribunal had passed a decision in another case, while Devi’s case was different. It was argued that the family pension in that case was given on the fact that the woman’s husband died while participating in the operation might.
The young man was in ‘Operation Rakshak’ at the time of death
It was also argued that Devi’s son died on 21 October 1991 and did not participate in Operation Parakram. It was also presented that in 2018, there was a huge delay of more than 25 years in filing the claim as Devi’s son died in 1991. However, the bench said that it should be considered as ‘War Caste’ as per Army Air Defense Record Part-II Order No. 01/BC/05/002 dated 27.08.1992, as death occurred during the said operation and there is no dispute that the son of the defendant (Rukmani Devi) was really posted in ‘Operation Protector’ at the time of his death. The judgment further stated that “The instructions issued by the Government of India, the Ministry of Defense in the month of January 2001 apply to all armed forces personnel, who are posted in military operations across India. The court said that the instructions provide all disabled, injuries, accidents and deaths during the instructions, all disabled during operation, which are notified by the government.
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