The Punjab and Haryana High Court has reprimanded the Ministry of Defense (MoD) for not granting disability pensions in many cases despite the orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) and filing appeals against the order.

The High Court asked the defense ministry's lawyer to assist the court in the next hearing on why contempt action should not be initiated against the defense ministry for filing such an appeal.

Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Aman Chaudhary's division bench took a tough stand on the appeal filed and said why not impose a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the Defense Ministry?

The court also ordered a senior officer of the Defense Ministry to appear in court and present his side at the next hearing of the case. Commenting, the High Court said that such petitions are being filed even after the decision of the Supreme Court in the cases of Dharmbir Singh vs. Union of India and Union of India vs Rajbir Singh.

In this case, the apex court had given a clear order regarding disability or disease, death, and conditions during service. The high court adjourned the plea to January 16 as the lawyer representing the central government said Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain, who is scheduled to argue the case, was not available.

On several occasions in the past, the High Court also reprimanded the Defense Ministry for filing appeals against the disability pension scheme. In March 2022, the apex court also expressed displeasure over the manner in which the Center was filing appeals against granting disability pensions despite the legal issue being resolved.