"Crass & Ignorant": High Court Slams Haryana Govt For Denying Compassionate Appointment To Son Of Officer Who Died During Galwan Operation

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed a writ petition filed by the son of a Brigadier-rank Army officer who died while serving in "Operation Snow Leopard", directing the State of Haryana to grant him compassionate appointment as a dependent of a "Battle Casualty," and expressing sharp displeasure at the State's stand rejecting his claim. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 240] Operation Snow Leopard was the Indian Army's operation during the Galwan standoff with China.Justice Nidhi Gupta said, "for the respondent to state that father of the petitioner had died due to disease and not killed in action, is preposterous. If father of the petitioner had not been posted in high altitude, there is every likelihood that he would not have suffered CVT (Cerebral Venous Thrombosis), which occurs when blood clot forms in a vein in the brain. It is a known medical phenomenon that incidence and risk of brain clots is exacerbated when travelling to higher altitudes. As availability of oxygen at high altitudes is less, this triggers hypoxia and dehydration, which in turn causes the blood to thicken, thereby activating hyper-coagulation and thrombosis. In this circumstance, it is crass and ignorant for the respondents to state that father of the petitioner had died due to 'disease'."The Court further added that, if anything, it was a 'disease' suffered by a soldier while in Service at an active battlefront. In this circumstance, stand of the respondents that father of the petitioner had not died in service and was not a 'Martyr' and not covered under the Policy, is unacceptable.Thus, the Court opined that the said rejection is not only factually erroneous; but also bad in law in view of the law laid down by this Court in similar circumstances while adjudicating the benefits from the State of Haryana arising from the concept of “Battle Casualty”.The petitioner, Saksham Rathore, a Commerce graduate and MBA degree-holder, is the son of Late Brigadier Abhimanyu Singh Rathore, who died on 30.07.2023 while undergoing treatment at Command Hospital, Chandigarh, for Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT) that had its onset at Leh, Ladakh, during "Operation Snow Leopard." The Army authorities declared his death a "Battle Casualty" vide certificate dated 10.01.2024, issued under Army Order 05/2020.Relying on the Haryana Government's compassionate appointment policies dated 28.09.2018 and 14.08.2023, the petitioner sought appointment as a dependent of a Battle Casualty. His application, forwarded by the Army authorities, was rejected by the State through three successive orders dated 16.02.2024, 24.05.2024 and 04.12.2025, the first two being non-speaking, and the third reiterating the State's position that the policies applied only to "martyrs" killed in action, not to battle casualties who died of "disease." The petitioner challenged all three rejection orders before the High Court.The State opposed the petition, contending that its policies extended compassionate appointment only to dependents of "martyrs" those killed in action in border skirmishes, terrorist attacks or riots and not to "battle casualties" generally. It further contended that Brigadier Rathore had not died in action but succumbed to a medical condition (CVT), and was therefore outside the scope of the policy, notwithstanding the Battle Casualty Certificate issued in his favour.The Court began by recording its anguish at what it called the State's unsympathetic and uncooperative approach in reducing a straightforward policy to semantics.On the State's first objection that the policy covered only "martyrs", the Court noted that the term "martyr" carries political and religious connotations and is not a term recognised by the Armed Forces, which instead use "Battle Casualty" to denote personnel killed in action or who died in an operational area. It held that the 2014 policy, which originally used the term "martyr," was consciously expanded via the policy dated 28.09.2018 to explicitly cover "battle casualty" as well, and further clarified by the 2023 policy, which defines "battle casualty" broadly to include death in the performance of bona fide official duties in war, IED blasts, border skirmishes, and even conditions such as cardiac arrest or natural calamities demanding exceptional courage. Since Brigadier Rathore had been certified a Battle Casualty under Army Order 05/2020, the Court held his case was squarely covered by both the 2018 and 2023 policies, rendering the State's "martyr"-only objection contrary to its own stated policy.On the State's second objection, that the officer died of "disease" rather than in action, the Court was emphatic in its rejection. It observed that Brigadier Rathore's CVT arose directly from his posting at high altitude during active operations against Chinese forces, noting that reduced oxygen at high altitude triggers hypoxia, dehydration and hyper-coagulation, thereby elevating the risk of brain clots. Terming the State's characterisation of...

"Crass & Ignorant": High Court Slams Haryana Govt For Denying Compassionate Appointment To Son Of Officer Who Died During Galwan Operation

Aiman J. Chishti

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Aiman J. Chishti

"Crass & Ignorant": High Court Slams Haryana Govt For Denying Compassionate Appointment To Son Of Officer Who Died During Galwan Operation

Aiman J. Chishti

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Aiman J. Chishti

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