"Don't want people to be disheartened and not join forces", SC seeks Union's response on ex-servicemen benefits for medically discharged IMA, NDA cadets
The Supreme Court today has issued notices to the Union of India, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Justice in a suo motu case registered over the plight of officer cadets who were medically discharged during training at elite academies like the NDA and IMA after suffering disabilities that occurred before commissioning, excluding them from ex-servicemen status and benefits under the Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme despite incurring lifelong injuries.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan took up the case today. The bench at the outset told the counsel for the government, "We want you to find out if trainee cadets are covered under any insurance scheme...because they are left high and dry..and what about a lumpsum that is paid to them..".
ASG Aishwarya Bhati appeared before court on behalf of the Union Government. As the court went ont o deliberate the issues faced by the cadets, it said, "We want brave people to come in the forces, if they are left high and dry they will be disheartened..nobody can predict what will happen after training..".
"This is unfortunate if they are disabled during tarining, it is not owing to them, it is an accident..even if they do not get ex-servicemen status, they can get some insurance..the other thing is rehabilitation..", the bench went on to observe as it flagged issue for consideration by the government.
On the courts' suggestion that these cadets could be given some desk job or any other job to be part of the forces, not in the field, ASG Bhati clarified, "In the army, navy and air force there are no non-combatants..every person on desks are also combatants...".
The matter will now be taken up on September 4, 2025 when the preliminary suggestions of the government would be considered.
According to media reports, since 1985, approximately 500 cadets have been discharged on medical grounds and are struggling with escalating medical bills even as the only support they receive is a monthly ex gratia payment of up to ₹40,000, an amount that falls far short of basic needs while average medical expenses alone often exceed ₹50,000 per month. At the NDA alone, around 20 cadets were discharged on medical grounds between 2021 and July 2025.
A media report brought attention to the fact that although Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal to increase compensation, that file remains stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Former service chiefs including General M M Naravane (retd) and Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) have urged that the government should absorb the cost of lifelong care, ensure robust health insurance, and treat compensation as an entitlement, not charity, and that training institutions must guarantee safety and fitness while also exploring whether cadets disabled during training should be granted ex servicemen status.
Case Title: In Re: Cadets Disabled in Military Training Struggle
Hearing date: 18 August 2025
Bench: Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan