High Court Criticizes Centre for Ignoring Agniveer's Posthumous Benefits Plea

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday took a strong stand against the Centre for its failure to respond to a petition filed by the mother of an agniveer. The mother seeks posthumous benefits equivalent to those given to regular soldiers killed in action.

The bench, headed by Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Hiten Venegaonkar, granted the Centre a deadline till May 6 to file its affidavit. This comes after repeated notifications sent in December and January, which remain unanswered. The court has stressed urgency, with Justice Ghuge warning of heavy costs if the Centre fails to comply by the next scheduled hearing date.

The plea filed by Jyotibai Naik highlights the arbitrary distinctions made by the Centre's Agnipath scheme between Agniveers and regular soldiers. It argues for equal benefits, including pensions and welfare measures, as received by the families of regular soldiers.