DEVENDER KUMAR vs DEFENCE on 28 October 2026

1. UNION OF INDIA Through its Secretary, Ministry of Defence, VERSUS 101 A, South Block, New Delhi 110001.

2. ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF, Military Engineer Services, Kashmir House, Rajaji Marg, Ministry of Defence (Army), New Delhi - 110011.

3. HEADQUATERS Commander Works Engineers (AF) Military Engineer Services Pal am, Delhi Cantt 110010.

4. EXECUTIVE ENGINEER GARRISON ENGINEER (AP), Military Engineer Services, Sohna Alwar Road, Gurgaon - 122001. ... Respondents (By Advocate: Mr. Dilbag Singh)

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O R D E R (ORAL)

Hon’ble Mr. Manish Garg, Member (J)

1. In the present Original Application, filed under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, the applicant has prayed for the following reliefs: “a. Quash and Set-aside the Impugned order No. P100IDK/285/3731E1(pens) Dated 27.10.2025 and Impugned Order No. P-100IDK/285/3721E1(pens) Dated 25.09.2025 to the extent that the Respondents are unnecessarily denying the Retrial dues of the applicant on the pretext of incorrect service records and to the extent of an illegal demand of an undertaking from the applicant that "he shall not claim any interest on the delayed payment of pension and other retiral dues which fell due on 28.02.2023". as, such a demand is illegal and arbitrary as the Retrial dues of the applicant have been delayed by the Respondents on their own and not due to any fault of the applicant.

b. Direct the Respondents to forthwith release all pending retiral dues of the Applicant, including pension, gratuity, leave encashment and post- retirement facilities such as the CGRS Card and CSD Canteen Card, along with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from the date the said dues became payable till the date of actual payment;

c. Award costs of the proceedings in favour of the Applicant and against the Respondents;

d. Pass such other or further orders or directions as this Ron'ble Tribunal may deem just, fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice.”

2. It is the case of the applicant that his claim for gratuity and other pensionary benefits has been deferred by the respondents for want of certain documents which have

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been outlined in Annexure A1 (quoted below) of the O.A. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant has submitted the requisite documents not just once but three times and have been annexed with the O.A. as Annexure A3 Colly. “PENSION/GRATUITY CLAIM IN RESPECT OF MES-375170 SHRI DAVINDER KUMAR, ELECT (SK) RETIRED ON 28 FEB 2023

1. Further to this office letter No. P-1 OO/DK/285/372/E1 (Pens) dt 25 Sep 2025.

2. It has been noticed that despite several verbal instructions issued from time-to-time you have still not submilted the rectified documents till date. Therefore, you are hereby directed to furnish the following desired documents at the earliest for processing of pension papers. The below mentioned points are to be strictly adhered to while submitting your documents this time:- 2.1 The name to be considered for processing of pension papers in your case is Shri Davinder Kumar as this is the same name mentioned in the appointment letter offered to you at the time of recruitment. 2.2 You have been informed several times to update your Aadhaar Card and PAN Card documents according to the correct date of birth as per service records held with this office i.e. 01.03.1963 but you have repeatedly submitted Aadhaar and PAN Card reflecting your DOB as 07.07.1965. Mismatch of the two is also a primary reason for failure of processing of pension documents. The affidavit dated 05 Sep 2025 furnished by you to this effect will not suffice. 2.3 You were asked to get an updated cheque book printed with the correct name spelling of self and spouse but you have refused to furnish the same. Instead, you have submitted a cancelled cheque where spouse name is hand-written and stamped by bank which is not acceptable. 2.4 You visited this office on 22 Sep 2025 and were asked to furnish an undertaking stating that you will

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not claim any interest on pension wef 01 Mar 2023 till date but you blatantly refused to submit the undertaking.

3. Please TREAT MATTTER URGENT.”

3. It is seen that by way of the counter affidavit the respondents have raised their objections stating that the O.A. is not maintainable. He submits that the date of birth of the applicant mismatched with the service records and the documents submitted by him and as per his service record his DOB is 01.03.1963 and DOB on Aadhar/PAN and other documents is 07.07.1965. Accordingly, the applicant was directed to reconcile and re-submit the documents duly corrected in all respect which intimated vide office letter No 31000/DK/1004/AF/23/LC dated 08.07.2023. But, after the several verbal and written reminders as per the applicant has failed to submit the correct documents due to which his pension claim was not being processed, with PCOA (pension) Allahabad. He submits that the following amount has been paid the applicant: (a) GPF Claim Rs 34,81,454/- (b) Leave Encashment (LEC)- Rs 5,28,240/- (c) CGEIGS Rs 18,196/-. He also submits that the applicant has also filed a suit for mandatory injuction bearing case no. CS 2215/2022 seeking similar reliefs

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before the District Court, Gurugram. Therefore, the present O.A. is liable to be dismissed. Learned counsel for the respondents has also drawn attention to the office order dated 11.05.2025 which reads as under:- “PENSION/GRATUITY CLAIM IN R/O MES - 375170 SH DAVINDER KUMAR, ELECT (SK) RETIRED ON 28 FEB 2023 OA NO. 4773/20215: DEVENDER KUMAR VS UOI Respected Sir (s)

1. Please refer last date of hearing in the subject case.

2. It is informed to the Hon'ble Court that Sh Davinder Kumar Elect (SK) retired on 28 Feb 2023 from GE (AF) Gurgaon. But due to non-signing of pension documents and filing of similar nature of OA No. CS 2215/2022 in district Court Gurgaon, his pension documents got delayed for submission to higher HQs i.e. HQ CWE (AF) Palam. After many request and counseling, Sh Davinder Kumar had signed his pension documents and the same were submitted to HQ CWE (AF) Palam for further uploading on Sparsh Portal. In Sparsh Portal, the pension documents are to checked and scrutinized by AO, GE (AF) Gurgaon and CDA (Army) Delhi Cantt (Audit Department) for further processing the pension case to PCDA (Pension) Allahabad (Audit Authority) for release of his pensionary benefits.

3. Later on, his documents were rejected and returned by HQ CWE (AF) Palam who have official access to Sparsh Portal for uploading of pension documents due to following observations after scrutiny vide letter No. 1902/Sparsh/359/E1R DT 26 Jun 2025 & 1902/Sparsh/401/E1R DT 01 Dec 2025 & 1902/SPARSH/13/E1R dt 29 Apr 2026 (copies attached):- 3.1 The name of pensioner is mismatched with service records and other official documents. At some places, his name was typed as Davinder Kumar and at some places, it was Devender Kumar and Devender which created ambiguity at various sections of department. However, this office has prepared and processed his pension documents as per name mentioned in his

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appointment letter and character certificate submitted by the pensioner at the time of appointment. 3.2 Name in Aadhar & PAN Card not matched with service record. 3.3 Date of birth in Aadhar & PAN card not matched with service record. 3.4 Bank details not matched with service record and spouse name was also not printed on cheque leaf.

4. His pension documents were resubmitted thrice by this office to HQ CWE (AF) Palam but the same was not considered and returned with observations for correction and re-submission of pension documents. It is pertinent to mention here that this office has counseled Sh Davinder Kumar for resubmission of correct documents for our onward submission to higher HQs but he failed to submit the same. It is the mandatory duty of the pensioner to provide correct and authenticated documents to the department as per check list for early release of the pensionary benefits. In the absence of correct documents, HQ CWE (AF) Palam refused to accept his pension documents for further submission on SPARSH Portal vide their letter No. 1902/SPARSH/13/E1R dt 29 Apr 2026 (copy attached) as the same will be objected and returned by audit authorities i.e. AO, GE (AF) Gurgaon and CDA (Army) Delhi Cantt governed by PCDA (Pension) Allahabad (Audit Department) at later stage.

5. At last it is submitted to Hon'ble Court that this office has taken all the necessary and precautionary steps in order to release his pension, but due to lack of submission of correct documents by the individual which are required by HQ CWE (AF) Palam for uploading on SPARSH Portal and non-cooperation by individual with department, his case for release of pension gets delayed several times. It is also requested to Hon'ble Court that onus of delay in submission of correct documents required by HQ CWE (AF) Palam will rest with Sh Davinder Kumar Elect (SK), Retd on 28 Feb 2023.”

4. Learned counsel for the respondents has also placed on record the service record of the applicant placed as

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Annexure A3 with the reply where the date of birth of the applicant is mentioned as 01.03.1963 and the date of appointment as 23.03.1994. He submits that the matter is to be decided by respondent No. 3 which is the competent authority for deciding such claims. He further submitted that after the introduction of the SPARSH Portal, unless and until the applicant makes a change in the documents in support of his claim the case of the applicant for grant of pension cannot be processed due to technical issues resulting in the delay.

5. In rejoinder, learned counsel for the applicant submitted that no doubt a civil suit has been filed by the applicant, however, the prayer in the same was different which cannot have a bearing on the present O.A. “It is therefore, prayed that a decree for mandatory injunction directing the defendants to supply the copy of information about the father nominee details as per respondent No. 5 service record book and the details of the family pension documents which was signed by the plaintiff mother at the time of death of Late Nihal Chand and other documents may kindly be passed in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants with costs of the suit. Any other relief which this Hon’ble Court deems fit and proper may also be passed in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants.”

6. He submits that he has already given an undertaking before the competent court which reads as under:-

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“I, MES-375170, Devender Kumar, applicant in Civil Suit No. CS/2215/2022 filed against UOI & Others at Hon’ble Civil Judge (JR DIV) Gurgaon hereby stated that I am withdrawing the above mentioned Civil Suit with immediate effect.”

7. He further submits that as per the service book the date of birth of 01.03.1963 should be reckoned and he is willing to give an undertaking in this regard and will not seek any change or correction.

8. I have heard the learned counsels for the parties as also gone through the pleadings available on record.

9. It is not in dispute that the applicant retired on attaining the age of superannuation on 28.02.2023. It is also not in dispute that certain payments have been released to the applicant. The only technical obstacle coming in the way of grant of pension and CGHS Card is the non-uploading of the documents due to mismatch of the date of births mentioned on the Aadhar Card and the PAN Card. However, as the applicant is willing to give an undertaking about the date of birth as per the service record within a week from today, the abovementioned mismatch cannot be allowed to come in the way of grant of pensionary benefits to the applicant.

10. With reference to the mismatch in the dates of birth mentioned in the service record, the Aadhar Card and the

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PAN Card, learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant has submitted various documents in support of his claim and is willing to give an undertaking by way of an affidavit that he is willing to accept the date mentioned in the service book and these documents can always be uploaded by the respondents in the portal.

11. Contemplating another situation in the present is that prior to the introduction of SPARSH Portal, the pension documents were scrutinized manually and such cases were processed manually. Moreover, it is seen that certain amount has already been paid to the applicant, therefore, the case of impersonation cannot be made out. The correction of the Aadhar Card and PAN Card is all together a different matter which cannot be delved into here. Mere technical grounds should not be an impediment in the grant of pension and pensionary benefits to the applicant. The contentions of the respondents is rejected outrightly.

12. Therefore, the O.A. is disposed of with the following directions:- i. The respondent (R-3) is directed to take an appropriate decision on the undertaking and

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affidavit filed by the applicant within one week from the date of receipt of the same. ii. Thereafter, the respondents shall process the case of the applicant and pass an appropriate order of PPO and release all the pensionary benefits of the applicant including grant of monthly pension and all the arrears of pension, gratuity, leave encashment etc. iii. The respondents shall also take the necessary steps to ensure issuance of the CGHS Card to the card. iv. Needless to say the applicant shall be entitled to interest on all the delayed payments at the rate applicable on GPF deposits from the date the payments were due till the dates when the amounts are actually paid. v. The aforesaid directions shall be complied with within a period of 45 days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

13. There shall be no order as to costs.

(Manish Garg) Member (J)

/dd /

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