The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of reports on the plight of officer cadets who suffered severe disabilities during military training and were subsequently discharged on medical grounds with inadequate support.
Also Read: Wounded Before War: The Untold Struggle of Cadets Left Without Support
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan will hear the writ petition titled “Cadets disabled in military training struggle” on August 18.
Sources said Justice Nagarathna placed the matter before Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, who assigned it to her bench for urgent hearing.
500 Cadets Medically Discharged Since 1985
Nearly 500 cadets have been medically discharged from premier institutes like the National Defence Academy (NDA) since 1985 after sustaining varying degrees of disability during training. At the NDA alone, about 20 cadets were discharged between 2021 and July 2025.
Currently, such cadets receive only an ex gratia of up to ₹40,000 per month, depending on disability, but they are not recognised as ex-servicemen (ESM). This excludes them from the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), which would have entitled them to free treatment at military hospitals and empanelled facilities. Families say the financial aid is grossly insufficient, with medical expenses often exceeding ₹50,000 a month.
Call for Urgent Reforms
The reports also noted that while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had approved a proposal to enhance the ex gratia, the file remains stuck.
Reacting to the findings, former Army Chief Gen M M Naravane (retd) and former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) urged the government to bear the long-term costs of care, provide robust health insurance, and ensure reasonable compensation along with improved safety measures during training.
