UNION OF INDIA Vs. S.K. RATHORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of writ petitions challenges the orders passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal, Mumbai in the Original Applications filed by the military personnel of the Army and Navy who have been granted disability pension by the Tribunal.

(2.) A disability pension can be granted to an officer who is invalided out of service on account of a disability which is either attributable to or aggravated by the military service in non-battle casualty cases and the disability is assessed at 20% or more. A disability pension consisting of service element and disability element may also be granted to a military personnel in low medical category who retires on superannuation or on completion of tenure, if found suffering on retirement from a disability which is either attributable to or aggravated by military service. In all these orders under challenge, the disease or disability pertained to primary hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, symptomatic dyslipidemia, V. P. S., obesity, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, neurilemmoma, ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative colitis, retinal vasculitis, chronic myeloid leukemia, panic disorder etc. The Tribunal held that the disability occurred in the respondent-military personnel due to service conditions or were aggravated by the military service and rounded of the disability element to 50% or above for life or for a fixed term.

(3.) In Writ Petition No.1994 of 2024, the order passed by the Tribunal in Original Application No.166 of 2020 has been challenged. In the said case, which was taken up as the lead case, the Tribunal held that the Diabetes Mellitus at the rate of 20% for life was aggravated by the military service and allowed the claim for disability pension to Lt. Colonel S. K. Rathore who was in low medical category when he was prematurely retired from service on 1/7/2003. He was released from military service on 1/7/2003 on the basis of the Medical Board proceedings dtd. 3/4/2003. He served in Army for more than 23 years and during this period he was posted at Imphal, Tuting in Manipur, Ladakh and participated in operation Rakshak and operation Parakram. There is no dispute that he was not suffering from any disability before joining the Armed Forces. It is recorded in the Medical Board proceedings that his health was affected due to continued difficult service conditions as an Infantry Officer. He was on special duty during operation Parakram from 19/12/2001 to 30/11/2002. The medical report records that the disability detected in him on 1/7/2002 was aggravated by his continued service conditions as Infantry Officer and his deployment in operation Parakram. The claim of disability pension was not decided during his lifetime, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and died on 1/11/2014. Notwithstanding these indisputed facts, the Invaliding Military Board rendered its opinion that the Diabetes Mellitus was a constitutional disorder and it was not connected with the military service and he was denied disability pension. His medical records and the Medical Board proceedings which are produced along with the writ petition reveal the aforementioned facts as under: -