Gurkha veterans lose High Court case over pensions

Soldiers who retired before July 1, 1997, accused the MoD of discriminating against them on the grounds of nationality and age.

Pension rules were altered in 2007 to give Gurkha soldiers equal pension rights with their UK counterparts.

They were handed the option of transferring into the UK Armed Forces pension schemes, leading to marked improvements in their retirement income.

But the British Gurkha Welfare Society said about 25,000 men who retired before July 1997 were denied the opportunity to transfer, leaving them with only a third of the income of UK-based soldiers.

Their pension scheme paid substantially lower benefits based on the cost of living in Nepal, the homeland to which veterans traditionally retired.

Lawyers for the veterans argued in the High Court that the failure to give all retired Gurkhas, who now had the right to settle in the UK, equal pension rights amounted to unlawful discrimination on grounds of nationality and age, in breach of the Human Rights Act and EU discrimination laws.

Mr Justice Burnett, sitting in London, spoke of the "high regard" the British people had for the Brigade of Gurkhas and their admiration for the Gurkhas as individuals.

But he rejected all the grounds of challenge and ruled the MoD had not acted unlawfully.

Two Gurkhas named as lead claimants in the case, Surbarna Adhikari and Tikendra Dewan, were claiming damages against the MoD under the Human Rights Act for its alleged failure to give them equal treatment.

Mr Adhikari, of Reading, Berkshire, enlisted in the Brigade of Gurkhas and served 15 years before discharge in February 1997 with the rank of corporal.

He is ineligible to transfer any of his pensionable years to the armed forces pension schemes.

Mr Dewan, of Farnborough, Hants, enlisted in September 1971 and served almost 31 years before being discharged in July 2002 with the rank of major.

As he was still serving after the July 1997 cut-off date, he is able to transfer part of his pension to one of the forces pension scheme, but only the last five years of service.

The British Gurkha Welfare Society's general secretary, Chhatra Rai, said after the ruling that the society would be seeking leave to appeal.

He commented: "It is very regrettable that the Gurkhas were yet again forced to take the British Government to court and disappointing that we did not win the case."