Absurd to say peace-posting disability not attributable to military service: Armed Forces Tribunal

The Chandigarh Regional Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) earlier this year granted disability pension to a former short services commissioned officer, after quashing a medical board report for being legally and factually unsustainable. (Navneet Singh Sindhu vs Union of India and ours).The AFT said that it is absurd to conclude that a disability incurred by the officer cannot be attributed to military service because the same was incurred during posting in peace area. Judicial Member Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Administrative Member Lt Gen Ranbir Singh slammed the medical report for ignoring the fact that the officer concerned, who was released from service in 1988, did not have any delectable disease or disability at the time of his commission.The bench noted the board’s strong reliance on the fact that we was stationed at a peace posting at the time of having been afflicted with Labile Hypertension.“How the disease was not connected with military service, the Board has failed to record cogent and plausible reasons. The only explanation that the disability having incurred upon in a ‘peace area’ and thus unconnected with the service rendered hence neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service, is absurd and also cryptic. The same even is also against the record and against the rules and judicial interpretation, hence not sustainable in the eyes of the law … (or) based on sound and cogent reasoning”, the AFT observed.The tribunal explained in its order dated March 6 why the origin area of a disability was not relevant in such cases.“In military service, a soldier is under stress and strain due to variety of reasons i.e. climatic, geographic and being away from the company of family members, hence the origin of the disability in a peace area or field area is not of much consequence as provided in rules”..The observations while granting the former officer disability at 50 per cent of basic pay with effect from May 2008, till life. The Central government was directed to compute and release the amount due so far within three months. The amount due will attract an interest of 8 per cent per annum till its date of its realisation, if not paid on time.The former officer had gotten the release report to be made only after an earlier round of litigation before the tribunal. After the report recommended limiting his pension to 20 per cent of basic pay from the date of medical test, his applications for disability pension at 50 per cent of basic pay from 2008 were rejected by two appellate committees. This led to the present application before the tribunal. The applicant pointed out that in his six years of service, he was posted in States that were at the peak of its terrorism at the time..The AFT relied on several Supreme Court precedents to note that rejecting the disability claims was wrong when it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that he had no medical issue while joining the Army.It, therefore, disposed of the application in his favour..Advocate Navdeep Singh appeared for the former officer. Senior Panel Counsel Sarika Gupta represented the respondents. [Read order]