Invoking Article 142, SC orders reinstatement of former IAF woman officer whose husband died in MiG-21 jet crash

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant allowed the appeal filed by former IAF officer Squadron Leader Priyanka Saxena against orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, in 2024 and directed that the Government of India case be treated as a single case without creating any precedent, as it was "very peculiar".

Article 142 of the Constitution grants the Supreme Court the power to pass any order necessary to secure complete justice.

Squadron Leader Saxena was commissioned in 2003 and stated her unwillingness to seek an extension of service or permanent commission due to family commitments to support her husband, a fighter pilot, and to look after their child. She left service after completing her 10-year SSC tenure in December 2013.

Her husband, who was with 51 Squadron in Srinagar, died in a MiG-21 Bison crash near Jaisalmer airfield on December 24, 2021.

Following his death, Saxena submitted several applications for reinstatement, citing her 10 years of past service as a Logistics Branch officer. The plea was rejected by the Indian Air Force, citing government policy, after which she approached the Armed Forces Tribunal seeking quashing of the rejection orders.

She argued that as a former woman officer who had become a widow of a defence personnel, she deserved age relaxation, and that the absence of a policy for such a category could not be a ground to reject her case.

The plea was contested by the government, saying that she had given up her claim for continuation in 2013, her rights had ceased, and she had crossed the maximum age of 35 years fixed under a policy letter dated November 30, 2017, for induction of widows of armed forces personnel.

The Tribunal closed the compliance proceedings on July 2, 2024.

Hearing the appeal, the Supreme Court observed that the case was "very peculiar" and not covered by any existing policy. The Court noted that the noble object of the war widow rehabilitation policy had left out a class like the appellant, and that her past service ought to have been given due weightage.

Noting that she is both an ex-Air Force officer and a war widow of an Air Force officer with two school-going minor daughters, the Court said her case deserved sympathetic consideration and that she need not undergo fresh pre-commission training like other widows inducted on academic qualifications.

Allowing the appeal, the Court directed that the lady officer will have to undergo refresher training for one year from the next course, and during the training period, she will be governed by trainee rules and must meet the medical requirements.

The Supreme Court also added that on completion of training, she will be reinstated as Squadron Leader in the 11th year of service, counting her previous service, and she will continue as an SSC officer with a four-year extension as per policy.

The apex court said her inter-se seniority will be fixed with her current peer group and she will be considered for permanent commission and promotion as per the applicable policy.

Commenting on the judgement, the lady officer's lawyer, Major Sudhanshu Shekhar Pandey (retd), said, "It is not the service which alone was important for the War Widow. She wanted her two small daughters' life should not be affected and they should live life the way it would have been had her husband not sacrificed life for the call of duty."

He said that the Defence Ministry ought to have made a policy to cater to such officers by providing necessary exemptions and relaxation, keeping in view the larger objective of such policies.

"We are greatly indebted to the Hon'ble Supreme Court for using the extraordinary power to do complete justice rather than accepting technicalities. We hope Air Force considers her case for permanent commission in due course with all fairness which she deserves," Pandey said. (ANI)