Disability pension is a vested right and a form of property under Article 300A of the Constitution; therefore, arrears cannot be restricted to three years preceding the claim and must be paid from the date of entitlement or discharge.

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CWP-11229-2026

217

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA

AT CHANDIGARH

CWP-11229-2026

Date of decision : 25.05.2026

Randhir ...Petitioner

Vs.

Union of India and others ...Respondent(s)

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK MANCHANDA

Present: Mr. B.S.Rathee, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Sr.Panel Counsel

for respondents No.1 to 3-UOI.

***

HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI , J.(Oral)

1. In the present petition, the challenge is to the impugned order

dated 25.09.2023 (Annexure P-5) passed by respondent No.4- Armed Forces

Tribunal, Regional Bench, Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as 'the

Tribunal), by which, the arrears admissible to the petitioner after holding him

entitled for the grant of disability pension have been restricted to a period of

three years from the date of filing of O.A.

2. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the restrictions

of the arrears by the Tribunal from said date is contrary to the judgment of the

Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal No.3086 of 2012 titled

" Balbir Singh vs. Union of India and others ", decided on 08.04.2016 and

Civil Appeal No. 6820-2824 of 2018 titled as "Union of India through its

Secretary and others vs. SGT Girish Kumar and others etc.", decided on

VANITA

2026.05.25 20:10

I attest to the accuracy and

authenticity of this order and

judgment

CWP-11229-2026

12.02.2026 and, therefore the restriction put upon the grant of arrears may

kindly be modified so as to entitle the petitioner for the grant of arrears from

the date of his discharge.

3. The learned counsel for respondents-UOI submits that as there

was a delay in raising the claim for grant of benefit of disability pension, the

benefit of arrears arising out of the same has been restricted which is perfectly

valid and legal.

4. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone

through the case file with their able assistance.

5. The issue with regard to the grant of arrears have already been

settled by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India while passing order in Balbir

Singh's case (supra). The relevant paragraph of the said judgment is as under:-

"XXX... The Tribunal was therefore justified in restoring the

service element of the pension in favour of the appellant.

The question however is whether the arrears could have

been restricted to three years only. The Tribunal in our view

need not have done so. That is because the appellant had a

right to receive service element of the pension in light of

Regulation 186 (supra), which right was valuable and ought

to have been protected. The fact that the appellant had

approached the Tribunal for redress belatedly was in the

peculiar circumstances of the case no reason for the

Tribunal to reduce the payment of arrears to three years

only.

We accordingly allow this appeal and modify the order

passed by the Tribunal with the direction that the appellant

shall be paid service element of the pension with effect from

the date the said payment was stopped by the respondents.

We however grant to the respondents three months time to

calculate and release the arrears in favour of the appellant.

In case the needful is not done within the time stipulated, the

arrears payable to the appellant shall start earning interest

at the rate of 9% from the date the period of three months

expires till actual payment of the amount."

6. Recently again, the same issue has been decided by the Hon'ble

Supreme Court of India in SGT Girish Kumar's case (supra), whereby it has

VANITA

2026.05.25 20:10

I attest to the accuracy and

authenticity of this order and

judgment

CWP-11229-2026

been held that benefit of arrears is to be given from 01.01.1996 or 01.01.2006

as the case may be, in case of entitlement qua disability pension. The relevant

paragraph of the said judgment is as under:-

“15. Pension, as authoritatively settled by this Court, is

neither a bounty nor an e