In a landmark judgment, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Chandigarh has ordered the central government to grant Liberalised Family Pension (LFP) to Rakhi Pandey, widow of Flight Lieutenant Sanjay Kumar Pandey, ending a 26-year battle for her rightful dues.
Flight Lieutenant SK Pandey lost his life in August 1999 while piloting a rescue helicopter to evacuate stranded German trekkers in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul–Spiti region after a devastating cloudburst. As per the 5th Central Pay Commission’s January 2001 recommendations—effective retrospectively from January 1, 1996—widows of service personnel who died in such operations were entitled to LFP. However, Ms. Pandey’s claim was denied for years due to the absence of a formal “battle casualty” certificate.
In 2023, the widow of Squadron Leader FS Siddique, co-pilot on the same ill-fated mission, received similar pension relief, but Ms. Pandey’s appeals were repeatedly rejected by the Joint Controller of Defence Accounts. It was only after sustained petitioning that the Indian Air Force issued the necessary certificate confirming her entitlement from 1999.
The bench, comprising Justice Umesh Chandra Sharma and Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, ruled that the 2001 government circular clearly applied to the circumstances of Flt. Lt. Pandey’s death and that financial authorities were bound to process payments once eligibility was certified by the Air Force.
With the tribunal’s decision, Ms. Pandey will now receive the enhanced family pension, marking the end of a decades-long struggle for recognition and justice.
