Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:49297-DB Court No. - 1 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 9413 of 2025 Petitioner :- No. 4088072-H Ex Rifleman Sunder Singh Of 12 Garhwal Fifles C/O-56 Apo Respondent :- U.O.I. Thru. Secy.Ministry Of Defence New Delhi And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Sudhir Kumar Singh,Abhishek Singh Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I. Hon'ble Rajan Roy,J. Hon'ble Manjive Shukla,J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri S.B. Pandey, learned Senior Counsel & D.S.G.I. assisted by Sri Varun Pandey, learned counsel for the opposite parties. 2. After hearing the parties what comes out is that the petitioner was employed as a Sepoy in the Indian Army on 23.09.2003. While working as such, he absented himself from 09.04.2005 till 08.05.2017, a fact which is not in dispute. In pursuance to an order dated 14.02.2017 passed by Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench, Lucknow in O.A. No.137 of 2014, he was reinstated in service notionally w.e.f. 06.04.2015. However, it is not in dispute that the petitioner was never paid pay and allowances for the said period of absence. In fact, it appears that the said period was never regularized as extraordinary leave with pay and allowance. In view of this, the tribunal has rejected the claim of the petitioner for pension in view of paras 21 and 47 of the Pension Regulations for the Army (Part-1), 2008. As per para no.47, the minimum qualifying service for earning a service pension is 15 years. As per para no.21, all service from the date of appointment or enrolment/transfer to man's service and any service rendered before attaining the age of 17 years, from the date of enrollment to the date of discharge shall qualify for pension and or gratuity with the exception of the conditions mentioned therein two of which are that any period of unauthorised absence unless pay and allowances are admitted for the period of absence and secondly, any period of absence without leave which is regularised as extra-ordinary leave without pay and allowances, meaning thereby, if pay and allowances have not been admitted for the said period of absence or if the leave to the said period has been regularized as extraordinary leave without pay and allowances, then, the said service would not be counted. In view of the said paragraphs, the total service rendered by the petitioner for the purposes of qualifying service for service pension is only 04 years and 10 months. Based on this, the tribunal has rejected the claim of the petitioner. The facts are not in dispute and could not be refuted before us. We, therefore, see no error in the judgment of the tribunal. 3. Accordingly, the petition is dismissed. (Manjive Shukla,J.) (Rajan Roy,J.) Order Date :- 22.8.2025 Shanu/- WRIA No. 9413 of 2025 2 Digitally signed by :- SHANU SUMAN High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench