Chandigarh, Punjab: After struggling for 28 years, a veteran of World War-II has been finally awarded pension for the service he rendered over 55 years ago. Had it not been for miscalculation by the Army authorities, he might have got his pension years ago.

Allowing a petition filed by Harbans Singh, a resident of Kharar, the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal also directed that he should be paid three-year arrears, commencing from the date of filing of petition till now.

Harbans Singh had served from September 1940 to March 1946. He again enrolled onto the Army in August 1951 and was discharged in March 1955.

In 1982, the Central Government introduced a new policy under which break in service was to be condoned and the period was to be counted towards the qualifying period for fixing pension.

Soon after, he received a letter from ASC Records stating that he was eligible for pension and should apply for the same. He took up the matter with the authorities concerned, but in 1993, received a communiqué from the Directorate General Supplies and Transport that his service amounted to 14 years and two months.

The minimum qualifying period for pension is 15 years, but a shortfall of six months can be condoned under law. As per the letter, his service was short of over four months even after condoning the grace period.

Later perusal of records showed that the date of his service period was wrongly mentioned. His actual service period was over 14 years and six months, which made him eligible for pension.

As the matter lingered, he filed a writ petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1998. The matter was admitted and was later transferred to the tribunal for further consideration.