After assault on Colonel in Patiala, petition in high court seeks national commission for defence personnel

Chandigarh: Against the backdrop of the alleged assault on an Army officer and his son by Punjab Police personnel in Patiala, the daughter of an Army officer and a law student at Mohali, has filed a petition in public interest before the Punjab and Haryana high court, seeking establishment of a National Commission for retired defence personnel and their dependents. The plea highlights the critical gaps in institutional support and protection for those who served the nation.
The petitioner, Tamanna Swami, draws attention to the significant strength of defence personnel -- 1.5 million in service, approximately 55,000 retiring annually, and a total of 2.6 million retired personnel. It refers to the March 2025 "police assault on a Colonel in Patiala where the officer's wife had to lead protests for justice" and highlights the urgent need for a specialised commission on the pattern of the National Commission for Women (NCW), National Commission for SCs, STs, BCs, and NRIs, to address and protect the rights of defence personnel.
The petition also mentions the profound social and economic challenges faced by families of defence personnel, their vulnerability to financial fraud, and the systemic lack of comprehensive institutional support for this key community.
Expected to come up for hearing next week, the petitioner seeks directions for the establishment of a National Commission with the primary objective of protecting the rights of defence personnel, addressing their systemic challenges, and providing a comprehensive mechanism for grievance resolution.
The petitioner states that not only the retired defence personnel, but also the dependents of serving and retired defence personnel face various problems in society because the defence personnel are posted in the field far away from civil society after joining service at a young age. As such, they do not have much interaction with civil society. Almost daily, incidents are reported about the duping of ex-servicemen in one manner or another, most often conning them of their hard-earned money received as service benefits.
Inadequate Mechanism
In view of the persistent demand from service headquarters and various associations, a resettlement division was set up in the department of defence in 1986, and thereafter a new department of ex-servicemen welfare was created on Sep 22, 2004, to pay attention to the resettlement of ex-servicemen. The present arrangement has not been able to redress the genuine grievances and problems of defence personnel and their dependents.