KRISHAN KUMAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition the petitioner has prayed for quashing orders dated 23.6.1997 (Annexure P2) and 29.6.2000 (Annexure P5) passed by Chief Controller of Defence Accounts (P), Allahabad (respondent No. 2) and Government of India, Ministry of Defence, respectively declining his claim for disability pension.

(2.) The petitioner was enrolled in the Indian Army on 9.12.1980. The Recruitment Medical Board, which examined him at the time of entry in the service did not record any adverse note about his health and did not make mention of any constitutional disease. After sixteen years, the Medical Board placed him in low medical category i.e. CEE on account of primary hypertension which, in the opinion of the Board, was aggravated due to stress of military service. Thereafter, he was invalided from service w.e.f. 28.12.1997. His claim for disability pension was rejected by respondent No. 2 on the ground that the cause of his disability was constitutional in nature and not related to service. The appeal filed by the petitioner against the decision of respondent No. 2 was rejected by the Government of India on the ground that the disease, namely, primary hypertension had no causal connection with the service and the same was neither attributable to nor aggravated by the duties of military service.

(3.) The petitioner has relied on the provisions of Regulation 173 of the Army Pension Regulations, 1961 and pleaded that rejection of his claim for disability pension should be declared illegal and quashed because at the time of entry in the service, the Medical Board did not record any note about constitutional disease and, in any case, respondent No. 2 could not have overruled the opinion of the Medical Board without assigning any reason.