Death Of Force Personnel Must Occur While ‘On Duty’ For Grant Of Extraordinary Pension; Natural Causes Of Death Unattributable To Govt Service: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court allowed a Writ Petition of a widow of late Inspector (General Duty) in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF).

The Delhi High Court held that for the grant of Extraordinary Pension, it must be shown that the death of the Force personnel occurred while ‘on duty’.
The Court held thus in a Writ Petition filed by a widow of late Inspector (General Duty) who unfortunately passed away while serving with the 54th Battalion (Bn.) in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF).
A Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur observed, “In order to qualify for the grant of Extraordinary Pension, it must be shown that the death of the member of the Force had occurred while ‘on duty’ and that the cause of the death has been accepted as being attributable to or aggravated by Government service. More so, the diseases contracted must be because of continued exposure to a hostile work environment, such as being subjected to extreme weather conditions, or occupational hazards, resulting in death. Natural causes of death are not attributable to Government service and thus chronic heart and renal diseases are not covered under the Rules.”
Advocate Ankur Chhiber appeared for the Petitioner while SPC Anshuman appeared for the Respondents.
Factual Background
The Petitioner’s late husband joined the ITBPF as a Constable (GD) in 1980 and gained various promotions during his service. He was ultimately promoted to the rank of Inspector (GD) in 2011, the post he was serving at the time of his demise. During his career, which spanned over 3 decades, the deceased had served at various stations and he was also from time to time an Instructor at the Basic Training Centre of ITBPF. While he was posted with the 54th Bn. of the ITBPF at Ziro, District Lower Subansiri, Arunachal Pradesh, for Border Guarding Duty in 2016, he experienced a sharp pain in his chest. However, at that time, he did not pay any heed to the pain as he thought the same was a result of a muscle pull/spasm while playing badminton. As the pain did not subside but had also spread to his back, the deceased reported the same to his superiors. They, thereafter, directed that he be taken to the District Hospital, where he was examined, and the ECG report revealed that his heart was in a poor condition and he required urgent and immediate medical attention. He was referred to the Government Medical College, Guwahati, Assam for further medical treatment.
Despite his ailment warranting urgent treatment, he was taken to Naharlagun in an ITBPF vehicle, which was the closest Railway Station, being situated four hours away from Ziro. From there, he took an overnight train to Guwahati, where upon his arrival, he was first taken to the ITBPF Transit Camp and thereafter to the Government Medical College. He succumbed to his cardiac condition and passed away. Since the Petitioner did not receive any complete information pertaining to her husband’s death, she preferred an Application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) but the same was rejected by the Respondents. She then approached the Appellate Authority and in response it was stated that as per the provisions of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC), an amount of Rs.3,81,000/- as leave encashment is to be paid to the Petitioner. She later received the said amount but was not satisfied with the entitlements and benefits accorded to her. Hence, she sent a legal notice to the Respondents her claim was rejected. Therefore, she was before the High Court.
Reasoning
The High Court after hearing the arguments from both sides, noted, “What emerges from a conjoint reading of the above provisions is that while deciding the issue of entitlement, the benefit of reasonable doubt may be given to the claimant, and more liberally when such a complaint arises out of field service.”
The Court held that the death of the late husband of the Petitioner falls under Category ‘B’ of the Government of India’s decisions and it cannot be denied that his death had occurred due to causes which are attributable to or aggravated by Government service.
“The petitioner, in our view, is therefore, correct in contending that in these circumstances, she is entitled for Extraordinary Pension. … The respondents have not disputed that at the time of the demise, the petitioner’s late husband was on duty in the specified high altitude area. For the reasons noticed hereinabove, the cause of death of the deceased was in circumstances which have direct connection with his service and happened during the official course of his duties”, it added.
The Court observed that the Petitioner, being the Next of Kin of the deceased, is entitled to grant of ex-gratia lumpsum compensation of Rs. 35 lakhs. It, therefore, directed the Respondents to sanction Extraordinary Pension to the Petitioner and pay the same in accordance with the Rules applicable thereto, effective from the date of death of the deceased, within a period of 12 weeks as far as arrears is concerned, and continue to pay the same in future as well.
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the Writ Petition.
Cause Title- Seema Jamwal v. Union of India and Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2025:DHC:1217-DB)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocate Ankur Chhibber
Respondents: SPC Anshuman, Advocates Gokul Sharma and Piyush Ahluwalia.