JAWALA SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner joined the Indian Army on October 09, 1968. He was invalidated out from this service on July 13, 1970 under Rule 13(3)III(Iii) of the Army Rules, 1954, with disability less than 20 per cent (i.e 15 to 19 %) due to "PARTIAL PROCLAPSE RECTUM (569)'. The Invalidating Medical Board arranged on April 22, 1970, to assess the cause, nature and degree of disablement, opined that the disability was aggravated by military service due to stress and strain of recruit training in Artillery Centre for thirteen months. The petitioner was neither granted disability pension nor service element of pension. Hence this writ petition.

(2.) In the written statement filed by the respondents, it has been pleaded that disability pension to the petitioner was rejected in the year 1971, but he never challenged the same. It has also been pleaded that the Chief Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Allahabad, vide their letter No. G- 3/CA/70/80276/II dated February 16, 1971, had accepted the disease as aggravated by service at 20 % for ten years, but opined that a successful operation could have reduced the degree of invalidating disability to 6 to 10 % for which the petitioner had refused. Since the petitioner refused to undergo the operation, which was considered by the Chief Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Allahabad, as unreasonable, his disability pension claim was rightly rejected.

(3.) In the replication filed by the petitioner, besides taking other pleas, it has been pleaded that if the disability of the petitioner is taken as less than 20 % at the time of invalidation, he is entitled for payment of service element of the disability pension as per Regulation 186 (1) of the Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961 (Part-I) (for short 'the Pension Regulations).