Now Reading: HC upholds higher pension for 1968 IAF crash widow
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HC upholds higher pension for 1968 IAF crash widow
Hindustan Times reports that the Punjab and Haryana high court has upheld an Armed Forces Tribunal order granting higher pension to Shammi Malhotra, widow of Squadron Leader PN Malhotra. The IAF pilot…
The Story in Brief
Hindustan Times reports that the Punjab and Haryana high court has upheld an Armed Forces Tribunal order granting higher pension to Shammi Malhotra, widow of Squadron Leader PN Malhotra. The IAF pilot was killed in an AN-12 crash near the Dhaka glacier on February 7, 1968. The government rejected her representation in July 2022, arguing that liberalised family pension arrears should start from 2016, not 1996. Dismissing the Centre’s plea, the bench of Justices HS Sethi and Amarinder Singh Grewal ruled that the widow is entitled to arrears from January 1, 1996, citing the state’s obligation as a model employer.
The Indian Opinion
The government’s argument that arrears should start only from 2016, not 1996, feels petty against a family’s 54-year wait. The court rightly called the state a model employer that must honour its own rules. But the real test is whether the pension is disbursed quickly, without further appeals, or if this becomes yet another round in an endless legal loop.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
