At the outbreak of the Sino-Indian War in autumn 1962, Pathania was still Director-General of the NCC. In November, when fighting resumed in Arunachal Pradesh, he was abruptly recalled to active service with only a few hours notice. He was given command of the 4th Infantry Division, to replace Major-General Niranjan Prasad under whom the division had been badly defeated at Namka Chu in the Tawang district. In 2012, "The Indian Express" discovered that four pages of a 40-page covering note to the still-classified Henderson Brooks–Bhagat Report, a review of the Indian Army's performance during the conflict, mentioned that then-Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon had been directly involved in reshuffling senior generals, including Pathania. According to the "Express", sources mentioned the Report particularly singled out and harshly criticised Pathania's appointment and the performance of the 4th Infantry Division under his command. The Report noted that despite Pathania not having commanded troops for a considerable time, he was still appointed a division commander.