The Central government has informed the Bombay High Court that Agniveers are not similarly placed as regular soldiers and, therefore, cannot be granted posthumous pensionary benefits. The Centre's affidavit was filed in response to a petition by Jyothibai Naik, the mother of Agniveer Murali Naik, who was killed on May 9, 2025, during Operation Sindoor.
Petition Demands Equal Benefits
Jyothibai Naik sought equal posthumous benefits, including pension and welfare measures, for Agniveers on par with regular soldiers who die in the line of duty. Her petition argued that the Agnipath scheme creates an arbitrary distinction between Agniveers and regular soldiers, despite both facing the same risks.
Centre's Response
In its reply, the Centre stated that the Agnipath scheme is a short-term engagement designed to meet present-day national needs. It emphasized that Agniveers are engaged for a fixed four-year period, whereas pensionary benefits and other emoluments in the Armed Forces are linked to long-term service.
“There can be no parity between two differently placed classes of persons. The classification and differentiation have a rational nexus with the objectives of the Agnipath scheme and are therefore, constitutionally valid under Article 14 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution of India,” the reply stated.
Terms of Engagement
The Centre further argued that having accepted the terms of engagement of the scheme, the deceased Agniveer's mother cannot now seek to retrospectively apply the service benefits of a regular soldier to the Agniveer category. The classification between Agniveers and regular soldiers is based on intelligible differentia, including tenure of service, nature of engagement, and conditions of recruitment.
Policy Decision
Seeking dismissal of the petition, the Centre said the recruitment of Agniveers is a policy decision taken for national security reasons, and judicial review of such policy decisions is limited. The reply also noted that the petitioner was under an erroneous assumption that Agniveers are entitled to the same pensionary benefits as regular soldiers. There is no provision for the grant of family pension to the next of kin of a deceased Agniveer.
Compensation Provided
The reply informed that Murali Naik's last rites were performed with full military honours, and his mother received a heartfelt condolence letter from the commanding officer of the regiment, as is done for regular soldiers. She received a total compensation of Rs 2.3 crore.
