Delhi High Court Grants Disability Compensation to Retired BSF DIG
Court Orders Compensation with Interest for 24-Year Delayed Recognition of Hearing Disability from Service Injury
News Report:
In a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court has directed the Union of India to release disability compensation to Ashvini Kumar Sharma, a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Border Security Force (BSF), for 42% hearing loss attributed to an injury sustained in an IED blast during service in 2001. The judgment, delivered by a division bench comprising Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla, mandates the release of compensation with 9% annual interest from September 27, 2017, the date of issuance of the suitability certificate, until payment is made.
The petitioner, Ashvini Kumar Sharma, had been retained in service despite his injury and had superannuated in 2018. His plea for disability compensation under Rule 9(3) of the Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939, was previously rejected by the respondents on grounds of delay and lack of contemporaneous evidence attributing his hearing loss to the injury sustained in Jammu and Kashmir in 2001.
The court found the respondents' reliance on Rule 6(i) of the CCS (EOP) Rules, which bars compensation for injuries sustained more than five years before the application, to be unwarranted in cases where the government servant is retained in service despite disability. The judgment highlighted the repeated communications and medical board findings confirming the petitioner's hearing loss as a direct consequence of the IED blast, which the respondents failed to address for over two decades.
The court's decision underscores the entitlement of government servants to disability compensation under Rule 9(3), regardless of the time elapsed since the injury, provided they were retained in service post-disablement. It emphasizes the need for timely recognition and compensation for service-related disabilities to ensure justice for affected personnel.
Bottom Line:
Service Law - Retired Border Security Force DIG entitled to disability compensation under Rule 9(3) of the Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939, for 42% hearing loss attributable to an injury sustained during service in 2001.
Statutory provision(s): Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939 - Rule 9(3), Rule 6(i)
Ashvini Kumar Sharma v. Union of India, (Delhi)(DB) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2780078
