In a significant relief for thousands of former armed forces personnel, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that disability pension arrears cannot be restricted to just three years before filing a claim.
The Court dismissed a batch of appeals filed by the Union of India and directed that eligible ex-servicemen be paid arrears from January 1, 1996 or January 1, 2006, as applicable, along with 6% annual interest.
The judgment came in Union of India v. SGT Girish Kumar & connected matters, decided on February 12, 2026.
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Background of the Case
The dispute revolved around “broad banding” of disability pension - a policy that rounds off the assessed percentage of disability to the next higher slab for calculating pension.
For example, under government instructions issued in 2001, a disability assessed below 50% would be treated as 50% for pension calculation.
However, the benefit was initially denied to personnel who retired on completion of tenure, and was limited mainly to those “invalidated out” of service due to disability.
In 2014, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Ram Avtar held that even personnel who retired normally but suffered disability attributable to military service were entitled to broad banding.
After that ruling, many ex-servicemen approached the Armed Forces Tribunal seeking recalculation of their pension and arrears from their date of discharge.
While some Tribunal benches granted full arrears, others restricted payment to only three years before the filing of applications, citing delay and limitation laws. The conflict eventually reached the Supreme Court.
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What the Union Argued
Appearing for the Centre, the Attorney General argued that even if broad banding applied, arrears could not go back indefinitely.
He contended that claims were governed by the Limitation Act and Section 22 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act. According to him, even in continuing pension matters, arrears should be confined to three years prior to filing the case.
Stand of the Ex-Servicemen
On the other side, counsel for the ex-servicemen argued that their right became clear only after the 2014 Supreme Court judgment.
They submitted that disability pension is not charity but a vested right. Denying arrears would amount to taking away property without authority of law.
Court’s Observations
Reading out the judgment, Justice Alok Aradhe noted that pension is “neither a bounty nor an ex gratia payment dependent upon the grace of the State.”
“The disability pension is not a matter of largesse, but a recognition of sacrifice made in service of the nation,” the bench observed.
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The Court stressed that the 2014 Ram Avtar ruling was a judgment “in rem” - meaning it applied to all similarly placed personnel, not just those who approached the Court.
Importantly, the judges pointed out that the Union government itself had taken policy decisions to grant arrears from 1996 or 2006 in various communications.
“Where the State itself, by a conscious policy decision, has determined that arrears of disability pension are payable from a specified cut-off date, it is not open to it to subsequently resile,” the bench said.
The Court added that restricting arrears after acknowledging entitlement would amount to deprivation of property under Article 300A of the Constitution.
It rejected the Centre’s reliance on earlier limitation rulings, stating that the legal position became final only after the 2014 decision. Therefore, the ex-servicemen could not be faulted for delay.
The bench concluded that objections based on delay or limitation were “without any merit.”
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The Decision
The Supreme Court dismissed all appeals filed by the Union of India.
It set aside those Tribunal orders that had limited arrears to three years before filing of applications.
The Court held that eligible ex-servicemen are entitled to disability pension with the benefit of broad banding from January 1, 1996 or January 1, 2006, as applicable.
It further directed payment of arrears along with interest at 6% per annum.
There was no order as to costs .
Case Title: Union of India v. SGT Girish Kumar & Ors.
Case No.: Civil Appeal Nos. 6820–6824 of 2018 & connected matters
Decision Date: February 12, 2026
