New Delhi: Captain Anshuman Singh, who lost his life in a fire incident at Siachen last year, was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra during the award ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Days after the award, his parents suggested that there should be revision of the ‘next of kin’ criteria given that their daughter-in-law allegedly doesn’t stay with them.
The debate over pension has led to several posts on social media regarding the benefits that families of defence personnel are entitled to.
ThePrint looks at benefits given to the families of defence personnel and the rules governing them
Broadly, there are three types of death-related pensions — Special Family Pension (SFP), Liberalised Family Pension (LFP), and Ordinary Family Pension (OFP).
Major Navdeep Singh (retired), military law expert and a Chandigarh-based lawyer, says on ‘X’ that while the OFP is granted when the death is not related to service conditions, SFP is granted when the death is due to factors which have a direct or indirect link with service, such as death while on duty, due to a disease incurred while in service, or accident on duty.
In case of OFP, the cause of the death could be due to an accident while on leave or due to suicide. Further, LFP is granted in cases where the death of the soldier has occurred in an operational area, he states.
Singh clarifies that no pension or other pensionary benefits can be part of an ‘estate’, which means that they cannot be determined by the ‘Will’. These benefits are usually granted only to the spouse of the deceased personnel. In the case of unmarried personnel, these benefits can be accrued by the parents.
“OFP is released to parents of unmarried personnel subject to an income/means limit, while there is no such condition for SFP and LFP,” Singh clarifies in his social media post.
Elaborating further, Singh states, “Benefits such as Insurance and other amounts which form a part of the ‘Estate’ are supposed to be released as per nomination but are subject to the ‘Will’ of the person or succession laws in case the person dies intestate (without leaving a Will).” He adds that in case of a Will, neither the government, nor the Army or family can have any say.
On whether pension can be divided, he says, OFP cannot be divided, however, SFP and LFP can be divided between the widow and the parents “in case of destitution subject to conditions laid down by the Govt, subject to investigation, such as in case the widow does not support children after remarriage etc.”
The post states that SFP and LFP are not discontinued on remarriage of the spouse. This applies even in the case of OFP. However, it is subject to an income limit from other sources, whereas there is no such limit set in case of SFP and LFP.
In recent times, there have been posts on social media stating that these benefits should be stopped in case of widow remarriage. To this, Singh in his post states, “Those who are advocating stoppage of Pension on remarriage are advocating a regressive move and taking the clock back to the dark ages while the founding fathers and mothers of this nation took great pains to advocate and encourage widow remarriage, and so did the Government.”
He points out several ‘possible improvements’ when it comes to rolling out of pensionary benefits. Singh suggests that the government can introduce division of OFP in cases of ‘destitution of parents which is not currently permissible’.
Further, he suggests, “The allied facilities or in-house facilities of the defence services which are not directly or wholly funded by public exchequer, and invitations to ceremonies etc should be equally extended to parents and spouses.”
He says while much of it is done, the rift can be covered and officially mandated. “The acknowledgment of sacrifice of those Killed in Action must flow towards both parents and the spouse. The establishment must have in place an equal outreach to parents and spouses.”
In case of ex gratia, which is granted by the states to families of soldiers who die in the line of duty, he suggests that all states should follow a policy of dividing the ex gratia between parents and the spouse.
Moreover, according to Singh, the variation of amount between different states can be bridged by the Centre. He however says that it cannot be legally enforced being a state subject. He says such attempts have been made by defence ministers in the past.
He also says that reservations such as in-housing and other facilities such as medical care must equally flow to parents and surviving spouses.
Singh also cautions that the government cannot be faulted in such issues as the official policies are “well-rounded, time-tested and liberal, even though there are a few areas in which progressive changes can be initiated, as is the case with most policies.”
Since the ongoing debates are linked with interpersonal relations, he says that if there are stories of spouses mistreating the parents of the deceased, there also are instances of widows being turned out of the house or forced to marry someone else in the family. “One cannot reach a conclusion of right or wrong based only on assumptions.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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