In Brief
Employees of the Air Force Group Insurance Society (AFGIS) challenged the Society's 2017 decision to remove pay parity with Central Government pay scales. The Delhi High Court dismissed their writ petitions, holding AFGIS is not "State" under the Constitution and therefore beyond court jurisdiction. The Supreme Court reversed this, finding AFGIS meets the constitutional definition of "State" due to: presidential sanction for its establishment, mandatory membership for all Air Force personnel, direct salary deductions, administration entirely by serving Air Force officers, and its core public duty of protecting armed forces personnel welfare. The Court held that AFGIS exercises pervasive governmental control despite self-funding, making it an instrumentality of the State. Writ petitions are therefore maintainable, and the case is remitted to the High Court for decision on the merits.
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