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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT INDORE
ANIL VERMA
Chhaya W/o Govardhansingh Solanki – Appellant
Versus
Public At Large Senior Accountant Officer, Principle Controller Of Defense Accounts – Respondent
Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:
The presumption of death under Section 108 of the Evidence Act is limited to establishing that a person is dead, but the exact date of death must be proven with credible evidence (!) (!) .
The presumption of death arises only after a person has been untraceable for seven years, and this presumption does not automatically specify the date of death; it requires evidence to determine the precise date (!) (!) .
The burden of proving the exact date of death lies with the party asserting it, and the presumption of death does not extend to presuming the date itself (!) (!) .
The date of civil death declared by the court should be based on evidence and the circumstances of the case, rather than mere inference or the date of filing the suit (!) (!) .
In cases involving missing soldiers, the date of disappearance (here, 25.7.2010) is not automatically considered the date of death; the actual date must be established through evidence, and the presumption of death only arises after seven years of untraceability (!) .
The government circular clarifies that benefits such as family pension may be granted after one year of disappearance, but the actual date of death must be established through evidence, not presumed solely on the passage of time (!) (!) .
The court emphasized that the finding of death should be based on cogent material and evidence, rather than inference alone, and that the date of filing the civil suit cannot be taken as the date of death (!) (!) .
The court modified the earlier judgment to declare the date of death as 25.7.2010, the date of the soldier's disappearance, aligning with the evidence and legal principles, thereby entitling the family to benefits accordingly (!) .
The court also expressed concern over the treatment of missing soldiers' families by military authorities, suggesting that rules should be reformed to reduce hardships faced by such families (!) .
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JUDGMENT :
1. The appellants have preferred the present second appeal under section 100 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (in short CPC) against the impugned judgment and decree dated 25.7.2023 passed by Fifth District Judge Mandsaur in civil appeal no. RCA/123/2023 thereby affirming the judgment and decree dated 7.12.2020 passed by Third Civil Judge Class II District Mandsaur in RCS-A/119/2020 whereby the civil suit filed by appellants for declaration of civil death has been partly allowed.
2. Brief facts of the case are that the appellants/plaintiffs are the parents of Surendra Singh Solanki, who had joined Indian Army in the year 2002 as Soldier and in the year 2010 he was promoted to the post of Signal Man in Srinagar. Surendra Singh took his training from 4.2.2010 to 21.2.2010 at Military Technical Training Institute Goa and was again called by the Center for further military training on 25.7.2010 in Goa. Surendra Singh went for training in Goa, but never returned from there and on 27.7.2010 the Military Training Center Goa informed the appellants that Surendra Singh has not reached at the training center on 25.7.2010. Thereafter appellants have lodged a missing person report at
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