Plea to identify families of defence personnel who died in line of duty and disburse welfare benefits

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday sought a report from the State to a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to the authorities to identify and verify families of defence personnel who died in the line of duty and disburse welfare benefits.A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel was hearing the petition filed by A.V. Kathir of Madurai. The petitioner sought a direction to authorities to identify such families district-wise. A dedicated officer at each Zila Sainik Board should be designated to contact and assist identified families in availing the welfare benefits entitled to them, he said.He said the death of serving defence personnel might cause financial, social and administrative hardship to the family. The family may become entitled to several distinct benefits, including ex-gratia assistance, pensionary benefits, insurance or welfare assistance, educational assistance and, where applicable, employment-related assistance.The existence of such entitlements, however, does not by itself establish that every eligible family has actually received each benefit. It is therefore necessary that authorities concerned maintain an effective mechanism for identification, communication, assistance and monitoring of eligible beneficiaries, he said. The court posted the matter for hearing to October 8. Published - September 09, 2026 09:39 pm IST