The Supreme Court on October 7, 2026, strongly rebuked the Union government for failing to comply with its direction to reconsider welfare measures for officer cadets boarded out of military training after injuries or disabilities. A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna, R. Mahadevan and D.K. Upadhyaya was hearing the suo motu case In Re: Cadets Disabled in Military Training Struggle [SMW(C) No. 6/2025].
The Court recorded that its order of August 4, 2026, requiring a fresh and favourable reconsideration of the 2015 Sabharwal Committee recommendations, had not been complied with. It granted the Centre one further opportunity to hold a proper meeting, reconsider those recommendations, and place the minutes on record. The matter has been listed for November 30. The Bench cautioned that continued non-compliance could invite adverse orders, including a mandamus, though it said it did not wish to issue one at this stage.
“No whisper” of reconsideration
Justice Nagarathna questioned the Centre’s approach in open court. “What is this scant attitude you are showing to the court? You say we disposed it of in 2022 and there ends the matter. What is the attitude on the part of the department?” she observed.
The Bench found that the Union’s affidavit merely referred to meetings held in 2022 and reproduced earlier decisions rejecting disability pension and ex-servicemen (ESM) status for out-boarded officer cadets. It said there was “no whisper” of any reconsideration in the light of the August 4 direction, and that it was “clear as daylight that there has been no reconsideration of the report by the respondent.” Justice Mahadevan added: “Pursuant to our 4th August direction, there is no reconsideration.”
On August 4, the Court had directed the respondent departments to reconsider the Sabharwal Committee report “in order to ameliorate the conditions of the outboarded cadets,” and had said it expected “certain favourable recommendations” from those departments. The 2015 committee had recommended, among other measures, ESM status and disability pension for officer cadets boarded out on account of training injuries. The Union rejected those recommendations in 2022 and has maintained that position.
Disparity with boarded-out recruits
The Bench noted that ordinary recruits who are boarded out receive disability pension and other benefits, while officer cadets do not. Senior Advocate Rekha Palli, the amicus curiae, highlighted this disparity and submitted that the cadets were seeking parity. About 400 officer cadets are stated to have been boarded out over several years, roughly 40 a year.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, for the Union, maintained that granting ESM status or disability pension at officer rates was not feasible under the existing policy, and said the pension question would be examined by the Eighth Central Pay Commission. Justice Nagarathna asked why officer cadets were treated differently from recruits and sought clarity on the financial implications.
In its August 4 order, the Court had already noted a gap in monthly disability or ex-gratia payments: officer cadets receive ₹12,240 plus dearness allowance, against ₹18,000 for jawan recruits. That disparity was left for the Eighth Pay Commission. The same order described the extension of lifelong Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) cover to invalidated cadets as a “laudable measure.”
Skill courses, not employment
On rehabilitation, Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman informed the Court that the government had proposed job-oriented courses of eight to ten weeks through the Directorate General of Resettlement, in areas such as cybersecurity, logistics, data analytics and technical trades. Completion of the courses would not guarantee employment.
Justice Nagarathna pressed for at least educational support. “At least educational expenses must be provided… We are not saying you provide them a graduate course, at least educational expenses for a diploma course can be provided if they want to have any future employment,” she said. The ASG undertook to seek instructions.
The amicus was asked to identify the specific benefits now available to boarded-out recruit soldiers, so that comparable facilities for officer cadets can be examined. The Court also asked the ASG to impress upon the department the need for a more responsive approach.
Earlier directions still in force
The proceedings concern cadets discharged from the National Defence Academy, the Indian Military Academy, the Officers Training Academy and other pre-commission training institutions after disabilities sustained during training. Many, particularly those below the 40 per cent benchmark, fall outside the full protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
On August 4, the Court had held that out-boarded cadets with benchmark disabilities are entitled to the 4 per cent reservation under Section 34 of that Act, and had directed States and Union Territories to consider reservation for them under the “Ex-Military Personnel” quota, independent of the Department of Personnel and Training’s definition of ex-servicemen. It had also directed the Centre to frame a suitable welfare scheme for cadets whose disability is below 40 per cent. The Court took suo motu cognisance in 2025 after reports that such cadets were left without status, adequate medical support or rehabilitation, despite having been injured in the course of training for commissioned service.
