A decorated war veteran from the 1965 Indo-Pakistan conflict is at the heart of a legal battle after the Punjab & Haryana High Court reprimanded the Central government for failing to clear his pension arrears—despite a binding tribunal order issued nearly seven years ago.
Retired Captain Reet MP Singh, a Vir Chakra recipient, sustained a disability during the war and was initially granted an 80% disability pension instead of the full 100% he was entitled to. A 2014 Supreme Court ruling clarified that similar cases warranted full benefits, prompting Singh to seek rightful compensation. The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) ruled in his favor in 2018, yet authorities failed to act.
In a scathing order, the High Court directed the Centre to release the dues within a month or face an additional 15% interest penalty. Justices Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Meenakshi I Mehta expressed strong disapproval over the repeated challenges against AFT orders, stressing that defying judicial directives would have financial consequences.
The ruling comes after the Union of India sought to contest the AFT’s decision, despite the matter having attained legal finality years ago. The court made it clear—stalling tactics won’t work, and delays in honoring commitments to veterans will not be tolerated.