SHARDA DEVI & ANR. vs UNION OF INDIA & ANR.

Judgment text excerpt

$~1 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 4860/2023 SHARDA DEVI & ANR. .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Siddharth Aggarwal and Mr. Himanshu Gautam, Advs. versus UNION OF INDIA & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Jatin Singh, Mr. Keshav Sehgal, Mr. Shivam Gaur, Mr. Shubham Agarwal, Mr. Aryan Kumar, Ms. Rashi Singh, Ms Shabina Mr. Siddarth Agarwal, Adv. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C. HARI SHANKAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE OM PRAKASH SHUKLA JUDGMENT (ORAL) % 10.11.2025 C. HARI SHANKAR, J. REVIEW PET. 551/2025, CM APPL. 68558/2025 and CM APPL. 68559/2025 1. We have heard Mr. Keshav Sehgal, learned Counsel for the respondents and Mr. Siddharth Aggarwal, learned Counsel for the petitioner at length on this review petition. 2. Having heard, learned Counsel for both sides, we are inclined only to modify our judgment dated 21 August 2025 to a limited extent. In the said judgment, we had analogised the case of Mahendra W.P.(C) 4860/2023 Signature Not Verified Page 1 of 4 Digitally Signed By:AJIT KUMAR Signing Date:13.11.2025 10:57:33 Singh Sharma, the petitioner’ husband, with that which was before the Supreme Court in Union of India v S.S. Bedi1. 3. S.S. Bedi was a case which arose under the Army (Pension) Regulations, 1961. The respondent S.S. Bedi2, in that case, was imposed a punishment of cashiering. Simultaneously, however, the respondent also withheld his pension on the ground that a punishment of cashiering ipso facto entitled withholding of pension. Bedi challenged the decision. The challenge travelled upto the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court noted that Section 71 of the Army Act, 1950 envisaged cashiering and withholding of past service for the purposes of pensionary benefits as separate punishments and, having chosen only to award the punishment of cashiering, th