A tragic road accident in November 1971 changed the life of a young Indian Army officer forever. As a true soldier on his way to answer the duty call, fate seemed to have some other plans for the officer, who could not serve the country during the India-Pakistan war in 1971.

Commissioned in December 1969 and posted with the 54th Infantry Division, Secunderabad, he was deployed to Jammu and Kashmir during the Indo-Pak war. But on his return from a one-day sanctioned leave to visit his parents in Vijayawada, he met with a devastating road accident.

The spinal fracture-dislocation (D12-L1) left him paraplegic, preventing him from joining the battlefield.

1971 to 2025: What is the retired lieutenant’s pension case?

Despite being medically invalidated from service in August 1973 after just four years, the Army denied him disability pension. Reason? His injuries occurred while he was on leave, not in active duty. This rejection pushed him into an extraordinary legal struggle that stretched for more than five decades.

Indian Army rules say that a disability pension is granted in invalided out cases due to disability Attributable to or Aggravated by Military Service. It consists of Disability Element and Service Element, the latter being equal to the retiring pension i.e. 50% of the reckonable emoluments last drawn.

Disability Element is 30% of reckonable emoluments last drawn for 100% disability. For lesser percentage of disability, the amount of disability element is reduced proportionally.

How did the long legal fight unfold?

After years of silence, the officer moved the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) in Hyderabad in 2019. In October 2024, the AFT ruled in his favour, ordering disability pension benefits. The Centre, however, challenged the tribunal’s decision in the Telangana High Court, arguing that the accident had no direct link to military service.

Delivering a landmark verdict, a division bench of Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy dismissed the Centre’s appeal. The court observed that the officer was returning from sanctioned leave to rejoin his unit during wartime when tragedy struck, making his case firmly within the ambit of service-related disability.

Why is this a big win?

For the 75-year-old retired lieutenant from Secunderabad, this ruling is more than just financial relief. It serves as the recognition, dignity, and justice that the officer deserved, despite coming after a 52-year-long wait. The Telangana High Court’s verdict not only upheld the AFT’s order but also sent a strong message on the rights of disabled veterans.