New Delhi, Apr 3: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre whether military cadets who become unfit due to disabilities sustained during training can be granted ex-servicemen status to avail reservation benefits in government and semi-government jobs.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that most of these cadets are below 30 years of age and would require employment. It directed the Centre to clarify if such “boarded-out” cadets could be treated as ex-servicemen or ex-military personnel for reservation purposes.
“During the course of submissions, one of the aspects that was discussed was whether the boarded-out cadets could also be considered as ex-servicemen or ex-military personnel for the purpose of having the benefit of reservation,” the bench said, asking the Additional Solicitor General to seek instructions on the issue.
Appearing for the Union government, Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman said a comprehensive response would be submitted. The court was hearing a suo motu case on the difficulties faced by cadets medically discharged due to injuries or disabilities during training.
Earlier, on August 18 last year, the apex court emphasised the need for “braveheart cadets” and said they should not be discouraged by injuries suffered during training. It directed the Centre to explore providing insurance cover for such cadets and sought responses from the defence forces.
The court also asked the Centre to consider enhancing the existing lump sum compensation of Rs 40,000 for disabled cadets and to examine granting them coverage under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), noting that a related proposal had been cleared by the defence ministry but not implemented.
It further directed authorities to explore rehabilitation options, including desk jobs or other roles within defence services after medical treatment.
The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue on August 12 last year following a media report highlighting the plight of such cadets, many of whom were training at premier institutions like the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy.
According to the report, around 500 officer cadets have been medically discharged since 1985 due to disabilities sustained during training and are facing financial hardship with limited compensation and rising medical expenses. (Agencies)
