MUMBAI, Dec. 17 -- The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought the central government's response to a petition filed by the mother of an Agniveer, M Murali Naik, who was killed during the armed conflict against Pakistan in May, challenging the disparity in death compensation and service benefits between Agniveers and regular soldiers. A division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Ashwin Bhobe has posted the matter for further hearing on January 15. The petition, filed on November 26, stated that under the existing policy framework, an Agniveer and their family are not entitled to any form of pension or lifelong family welfare benefits upon completion of service or in the event of death during service. Unlike regular soldiers, who earn a pension and gratuity upon qualifying for service, Agniveers receive only a one-time "Seva Nidhi" corpus at the end of their four-year term, along with a limited compensation package if killed in the line of duty. Naik was killed on May 9 in cross-border shelling in Poonch following Operation Sindoor. He was recruited as an Agniveer in 2023. In her petition, Naik's mother, Jyothibai Shriram Naik, challenged the "operational consequences" of the Agnipath Scheme, saying it denies the families of Agniveers who die in the line of duty the same survivor benefits, financial security, and the institutional honour that are accorded to the families of regular soldiers. The petition stated that the family of the fallen Agniveer receives certain ex-gratia and insurance-based payments, amounting to approximately Rs.1 crore in total. However, they are not provided the regular family pension, lifelong healthcare, or social security benefits that accrue automatically to the families of regular soldiers killed in identical field conditions. Although the families may receive certain one-time payments, these cannot substitute the stability, dignity, and long-term security inherent in a lifelong family pension, the petition argued. Naik has sought to have this aspect of the Agnipath scheme declared "unconstitutional". She has also urged the court to direct the central and state governments to extend the full range of benefits, honours, and protections that are to the families of all soldiers who die during conflict, without any discrimination based on the scheme of engagement....