The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to consider the peculiar facts of the case pertaining to the wife of Major Anuj Sood, an Indian Army officer who sacrificed his life in the line of duty in an anti-terror operation in 2020.
While listening to the case, a two-judge bench of the High Court comprising Justices GS Kulkarni and FP Pooniwalla directed the Maharashtra government to take an appropriate decision before March 28 while considering Aakriti Singh Sood’s plea for monetary reliefs and Shaurya Chakra allowance as a special case, without the case being treated as a precedent.
Sood, 30, an NDA graduate, was part of the 21st battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR). He was amongst the five security personnel who died in the encounter that ensued in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district on May 2, 2020. The young officer was also awarded the Shaurya Chakra by the President.
According to the Maharashtra government, only those who have been born in Maharashtra or who have had a continuous stay of 15 years in the state are eligible for this relief and allowance.
Advocates Ashutosh Kumbhakoni and Sneha Bhange appearing for Sood’s wife submitted that the deceased officer belonged to Maharashtra, and he always wanted to settle back in the state.
Kumbhakoni also submitted documents showing that the family had a house in Maharashtra and contended that Sood, having sacrificed his life for the country, was entitled to the benefits under the policy of the state government which had been denied to her.
The bench will be further hearing the plea on March 28.
Source Agencies
