Reinstate ‘war widow’ ex-IAF officer, rules Supreme Court

The Supreme Court directed the reinstatement of aformer short service commission woman Air Force officer after a gap of nearly 14 years, making a one-time exception by exercising its extraordinary constitutional powers due to her “war widow” status.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, “This is a case of the appellant becoming eligible on both counts; her being an ex-Air Force officer, and she being a war widow of an Air Force officer.”

The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, noted her case as “peculiar” and deserving sympathetic treatment considering her two school-going daughters.

The order passed on September 21, and now made public, stated, “Considering the peculiarity of the facts of the present case, and the circumstances under which the appellant had to approach the court for reinstatement, and exercising our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, we direct that the case of the appellant be treated as a single case without creating any precedent, and she be re-inducted and reinstated into the Air Force.”

The court directed ex-IAF officer Priyanka Saxena to undergo a one-year refresher training and clear the medical requirements stipulated by the rules. “On completion of training, the appellant would be reinstated as Squadron Leader in the eleventh year of service,” the bench said as she left service in 2012, corresponding to her 10th year of short service commission (SSC) following childbirth.

She joined the Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, in January 2002 and, upon commissioning, joined the 41 Wing, Jaisalmer, as her first posting. She married late Wing Commander Harshit Sinha and even received an award of Commendation from the Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command due to her excellent service. In May 2012, following the birth of her first daughter, family commitments, and to support her husband – a fighter pilot – she left the service, expressing her unwillingness for permanent commission.

Her second daughter was born in 2016, but tragedy struck in 2021 when her husband died in a MiG-21 Bison aircraft crash near Jaisalmer. Since then, she has made several applications for reinstatement, considering her past decade-long service in the Air Force. In April 2022, she was found ineligible because she had crossed the age of 35 years, the threshold set by a November 30, 2017 policy.

After losing before the Armed Forces Tribunal, her last hope was the Supreme Court. The bench said, “We have taken note of the fact that the case of the appellant is a very peculiar one and not covered by any of the policies in existence framed by the Union of India. Her case is one of the widow of a fighter pilot who was serving in the Indian Air Force and who lost his life in an aircraft crash.”

Further, the bench noted, “The appellant is a war widow having two school-going minor daughters, and her case deserves to be considered sympathetically.” While the Centre had a rehabilitation policy for war widows, the bench observed that war widows such as Saxena have been “left out completely”.

“It seems to us that the appellant’s past service ought to have been given weightage, and her experience of service need not even require her to undergo a fresh training, a fresh precommission training, which is mandatory in case of other war widows who are inducted based on their academic qualification,” the court said.

At the end of her short service commission, the bench further directed that she would be granted a four-year extension as per policy and her inter-se seniority would be fixed along with her current peer group with whom she shall be considered eligible for permanent commission, promotion benefits, etc.