New Delhi: Keeping in mind that it is respect that is the most important thing for a defense personnel, Supreme Court On Wednesday directed that a seventy-year-old former Indian Air Force The pilots, who had a dishonorable exit from the service 33 years ago, will now be given a farewell with dignity as their dismissal was arbitrary and in violation of the law.After fighting a legal battle lasting over 33 years, the officer got his honor restored and the Supreme Court held his dismissal illegal and directed the Center to give him 50% of the pay and allowances and all promotion and pension benefits from 1993 till the date of his retirement from service.“Justice demands that the humiliation with which the Appellant had to live for more than three decades be ended, his wrongful termination of service set aside and his honor restored… The dismissal order dated 22 September 1993 is cancelled. The Appellant has crossed the age of superannuation and hence, he cannot be reinstated in service. However, in law, he is entitled to claim all the consequential service benefits which he would have received, had he not been constrained with such illegal order of dismissal,” the bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and KV Vishwanathan said.“Restoration of honor remains the foremost concern of the defense personnel. We restore it with the direction that on a date to be fixed by the Chief of the Air Staff, the appellant shall be debarred in the normal manner to which he would otherwise have been entitled but for the order of dismissal,” the bench said. Squadron Leader R Sood was ordered by his superior to throw a drunk driver out of the premises and following the order Sood took him to a secluded place and later a dead body was found there. He was tried in a criminal court but acquitted as there was no evidence against him. However, he was court martialed resulting in his dismissal in 1993.