SC slams govt over appeal against soldier's pension

The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the central government and the Army for appealing against a tribunal order that granted a liberalised pension to the widow of a soldier who died during a counter terrorism patrol in Jammu and Kashmir, lamenting that such appeals not only lack merit but also impose undue costs on widows of those who served the nation.

- Utkarsh Anand

"It's very, very harsh. He was a soldier of this country, and he worked for you. How can you come in appeal in a matter like this?" remarked a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and AG Masih, highlighting the need for fairness in such cases.

The bench also flagged the absence of an internal mechanism to filter unnecessary appeals, emphasising that this particular case involved a soldier who died during Operation Rakshak, a counter terrorism initiative along the Line of Control.