NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought response of the Centre and defence forces in a suo motu case on difficulties faced by cadets, who were medically discharged from military institutes on account of disabilities suffered during training programmes.A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan said the Centre should explore the possibility of granting an insurance cover to the cadets undergoing rigorous training in different military institutes to deal with any exigency of death or disabilities.The bench also asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, to seek instruction on enhancing the Rs 40,000 ex-gratia amount granted to the cadets who get disabled during the training programme, to meet medical expenses.The top court also asked the Centre to explore a scheme for rehabilitation of these disabled candidates back into forces like desk jobs or any other work related to defence services, after their treatment is over.”We want braveheart cadets to be in the forces. We don’t want injuries or disability to be any kind of deterrent to these cadets, who undergo training after clearing various competitive examinations,” the bench observed. It posted the matter for further hearing on September 4.The top court had registered on August 12 the suo motu case after a media report flagged the issue of these cadets, who were once part of training at the nation’s top military institutes such as the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Military Academy (IMA).According to the media report, there are around 500 officer cadets who have been medically discharged from these military institutes since 1985, due to varying degrees of disability incurred during training, and are now staring at mounting medical bills with an ex-gratia monthly payment that’s far short of what they need.It said at the NDA alone, there are around 20 such cadets, who were medically discharged in just five years, between 2021 and July 2025.The media report further highlighted the plight of these cadets because as per rules, they are not entitled to the status of ex-servicemen (ESM), which would have made them eligible under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) for free treatment at military facilities and empanelled hospitals, since their disabilities took place during training before they were commissioned as officers.It had said that unlike soldiers in this category, who are entitled to ESM status, all that these officer cadets get now is an ex-gratia payment of up to Rs 40,000 per month depending on extent of disability – an amount that falls far short of basic needs. PTI
