Here is another story of the callousness with which the Defence Ministry treats ex-servicemen.

A retired Brigadier died while waiting for the ministry to reimburse the expenses he had to incur on an emergency medical treatment abroad about four years ago.

Instead of reimbursing the retired officer, the ministry ensured that all kinds of bureaucratic hurdles were put in place so that Brig T.S. Sekhon (retd) was denied his due.

Brig T.S. Sekhon (retd) Brig T.S. Sekhon (retd)

And even after he won a case from the Armed Forces Tribunal, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) refused to honour the verdict and went for an appeal in the Supreme Court.

And despite the fact that it got no relief from the apex court, the ministry still did not release the Rs 5 lakh.

Brig Sekhon died a few days ago after waiting in futility for his rightful dues.

He had a cardiac device implanted in 2003 and a surgery to replace the AICD and remove the wires was not successful.

While on a visit to Germany to meet his daughter, the brigadier suffered a medical emergency and a surgical procedure had to be performed.

The Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme refused to do so, saying there was no provision for reimbursement of surgeries held in another country.

This claim was later found to be wrong. And despite the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal directing the MoD to release the reimbursement, nothing was done.

His advocate, Major Navdeep Singh, termed the entire handling of the case by MoD as shameful.

"I would only say that it is not an isolated incident and the majesty of law is not being respected in this country. Now here is a case that in February 2011, a very fair direction was given to reimburse at Indian rates. But it was not implemented. The MoD went to the Supreme Court, where the appeal was rejected but still the judgement was not implemented. It is very sad that the poor veteran died without receiving his payment," he said.

Retired defence officers feel what happened to Brig Sekhon was shameful and it shows the lack of apathy the MoD has for them.

According to Maj Gen Krishen Khorana (retd), the brigadier has literally been killed by politicians and MoD.