The Army HQ letter says that there has been a rise in personnel being awarded disability pension even for lifestyle diseases, which it considers a “cause for worry” The unsigned letter, shared on the Twitter account of Sitharaman, blames some “unscrupulous personnel” for exploiting the system for personal gain and justifies the change in policy

by Manu Pubby

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday tweeted a letter from Army Headquarters that appeared to justify unexpected withdrawal of tax exemption for disabled veterans. The letter claims that some retired personnel are ‘exploiting’ the system.

A recent notification by the Central Board of Direct Taxation reversed a decades-old privilege given to disabled soldiers that exempted them from income tax. This created an uproar among veterans, forcing the finance ministry to release the letter, suggesting that the recommendation came from the Army HQ itself.


The unsigned letter, shared on the Twitter account of Sitharaman, blames some “unscrupulous personnel” for exploiting the system for personal gain and justifies the change in policy.

“Disability is granted to personnel who are disabled in combat or during peace time and their disability is attributable to service conditions. The latter have somehow explanted the weakness in the mechanism for grant of disability pension and along with the tax exemption,” the letter states.

Veterans have termed the letter “unprofessional” and “shocking”, pointing out that the power to grant disability pension lies with the Army itself and if needed, a crackdown should be conducted against those faking disability, instead of punishing the entire community for the wrongs of a few.

The Army HQ letter says that there has been a rise in personnel being awarded disability pension even for lifestyle diseases, which it considers a “cause for worry.”

“There should be no segregation amongst genuinely disabled personnel. At the same time, those who have found the leverages in the existing system for seeking financial gain through their disabilities need to be scrutinised and taken to task,” it says.

The letter also refers to the case of Major General Ian Cardozo (Retd), who amputated his leg as a young Major during the 1971 war but continued to serve in the Army to retire at a senior rank. While the letter praises the officer for never letting his disability come in the way of his service, it fails to explain how the new policy penalises veterans like him who will no longer enjoy tax exemptions on pension.

“This note goes against rules, judgements of the Supreme Court, medical science and various reports of commissions and committees. It is totally unbelievable,” Major Navdeep Singh (retd), a lawyer who takes up cases of soldiers’ welfare, said.

Major DP Singh, an amputee of Kargil war and a veteran who bounced back as India’s first ‘blade runner’, tweeted on Tuesday: “Time to relook service disability from (a) more positive angle. Curbing is not a solution but finding road blocks & mending that is.”

It may be recalled that the matter was raised in the Parliament last week, with defence minister Rajnath Singh promising to look into the matter.