Army Officer Suffers Hypertension During 17 Yrs Of Service: P&H HC Says Disease Attributable To Military Service, Upholds Entitlement To Disability Pension
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that an Army Officer who was diagnosed with "Stage-1 Hypertension (1-10)" during his service in the Armed Forces will be entitled to disability pension.
Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Karamjit Singh said, "The respondent No.1 has served the Armed Forces for nearly 17 years. At the time of his entry in the service, no such disease or disability was existing. Further, it is undisputed fact that at the time of his discharge from the Armed Forces, respondent No.1 was found to be suffering from `Stage-1 Hypertension (1-10)'. Therefore, in terms of law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Dharamvir Singh's case (Dharamvir Singh Vs. Union of India (2013) 7 SCC 31), the disability/disease suffered by the respondent No.1 is attributable to and aggravated by the military service."
The Court was hearing the plea of the Union Government which had challenged the order of the Armed Forces Tribunal allowing the application seeking disability pension.
Facts in Brief
The officer entered military service in 2002 and at that time he was medically fit. However, during the course of his service, he incurred disability of Stage-1 Hypertension (1-10) and was discharged from service on 31.10.2019. At the time of his release, his disability was assessed at 30% for life by the Release Medical Board.
The officer's claim for disability pension was rejected by the Union Government on the ground that the disability suffered by him was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service.
It was contended by the Union Government that as per the opinion of the Release Medical Board, the disability suffered by the officer was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service and that such expert opinion must be respected.
After hearing the submissions, the Court relied on Dharamvir Singh Vs. Union of India (2013), wherein the Apex Court allowed the plea seeking disability pension in a similar matter and said that,
"it is undisputed that no note of any disease has been recorded at the time of the appellant's acceptance for military service. The respondents have failed to bring on record any document to suggest that the appellant was under treatment for such a disease or by hereditary he is suffering from such disease. In the absence of any note in the service record at the time of acceptance of joining of the appellant it was incumbent on the part of the Medical Board to call for records and look into the same before coming to an opinion that the disease could not have been detected on medical examination prior to the acceptance for military service, but nothing is on the record to suggest that any such record was called for by the Medical Board or looked into it and no reasons have been recorded in writing to come to the conclusion that the disability is not due to military service."
In the present case, the Court noted that the officer has served the Armed Forces for nearly 17 years and at the time of his entry into the service, no such disease or disability existed.
However, he was found suffering from `Stage-1 Hypertension (1-10)' at the time of his discharge.
In light of the above, the Court held that "the disability/disease suffered by respondent No.1 is attributable to and aggravated by the military service."
Stating that "we find no illegality or perversity in the order passed by the learned AFT", the Court dismissed the plea.
Ms. Bhavna Dutta, Senior Panel Counsel, for the petitioners-Union of India.
Title: UOI& Ors v. NO 14449872EX GNR DHIRAJ KUMAR & ANR
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (PH) 252