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ARMED FORCES TRIBUNAL, REGIONAL BENCH, JAIPUR

16.

OA 72/2016

Army No 15615942X Nk Sujeet Singh, S/o shri Shiodutt Singh, presently

posted in 16 GUARDS, Permanent Resident of 558, SK Nagar, Naya

Basti, Rishra, Post Prabash Nagar, District Hooghly, West Bengal – 712

249

…. Applicant

Versus

1. UOI, through the Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India,

New Delhi – 110 011

2. The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, HQ Southern

Command, PIN 908 541, c/o 56 APO

3. The Commanding Officer, 16 Guards, PIN 910 916, c/o 56 APO

4. smt Shweta Singh, wife of Nk Surjeet Singh, 127, Satyajit Roy

Saraw, Kantadanga Bhadreshwar, Post Angul District Hooghly, West

Bengal – 712 221

…. Respondents

For Applicant : None Present

For Respondents : Mr. Pradeep Mathur, Advocate

CORAM:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE GOVERDHAN BARDHAR, MEMBER (J)

HON’BLE MR. SANJIV MITTAL, MEMBER (A)

O R D E R

28.01.2026

1. Under Section 14 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, the applicant, who

was a serving soldier at the time of filing, has filed this OA praying that the

impugned Order dated 20/11/2015, Annexure A/7, under which maintenance

allowance has been granted to the wife of the applicant, be set aside and the

Respondents may please be restrained from deducting any amount from the

pay and allowances of the applicant. As an interim prayer, he has also prayed that

during the pendency of the OA, the ibid impugned order be stayed.

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2. We have perused the material on record.

3. Perusal of record reveals that on numerous occasions in the past, either

none appeared on behalf of the applicant or a proxy counsel appeared and sought

adjournment, which shows that the designated counsel for the applicant is not

serious in pursuing the case of the applicant. Even today, the counsel for the

applicant has not appeared before this Tribunal. The issue involved in this matter

is about maintenance allowance granted to the estranged wife of the applicant.

Further, perusal of Annexure A/7, reveals that the competent authority, ie,

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, in exercise of the

powers vested in him under Section 91 (1) of the Army Act, 1950, read with

Army Rule 193, as amended, and Army Rule 2/2001, has accorded sanction for

the deduction of an amount @27.5%, ie, @22% to the wife and 5.5% to the son

of the applicant, per month from the pay and allowances of the applicant and its

payment to the wife of the applicant, Smt Shweta Singh, for maintenance of

herself and her son, with effect from 01/11/2014. This payment will continue till

the marriage of the lady with the applicant subsists or till her death, whichever

is earlier and the grant to the son of the applicant will continue till he attains the

age of majority, ie, 25 years, or till he has an independent source of income.

4. In view of the foregoing and since maintenance allowance has been granted

to the estranged wife of the applicant and his legitimate son borne out of their

wedlock in terms of extant provisions on the subject after following due process

and the lapse of time involved in this matter, we are not inclined to interfere with

the considered decision arrived at by the competent authority in granting

maintenance allowance to the wife and son of the applicant for their subsistence.

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OA 72/2016, filed by

Army No 15615942X Nk Sujeet Singh

5. The OA is accordingly dismissed. No order on costs.

(SANJIV MITTAL) (GOVERDHAN BARDHAR)

MEMBER (A) MEMBER (J)

cda/-