Court dismisses Union of India's writ petition, affirming Armed Forces Tribunal's decision on disability and pension rounding off.
In a significant ruling, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by the Union of India against the Armed Forces Tribunal's (AFT) decision to grant disability pension benefits to Ex NK Roshan Lal. The court upheld the AFT's directive that the disability element for Roshan Lal, assessed at 20% for life, should be rounded off to 50% from January 1, 1996, onwards.
The judgment was delivered by a division bench comprising Justices Sindhu Sharma and Shahzad Azeem. The case revolved around the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Allahabad, which had overridden the Review Medical Board's assessment of Roshan Lal's disability, claiming it was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service. This decision was deemed void in law by the court.
Roshan Lal, who served in the Indian Army from July 23, 1977, until his discharge on December 31, 1993, due to an eye disease detected during service, had his disability initially assessed at 15-19% by the Release Medical Board. His subsequent appeals for disability pension were rejected until a Review Medical Board in 2020 assessed his disability at 20% for life.
The AFT's order, challenged by the Union of India, also addressed the issue of rounding off disability pensions, citing Supreme Court precedents which extend this benefit to all personnel, including those retiring on superannuation or tenure completion. The High Court agreed with the AFT's reliance on the Supreme Court's decisions in cases such as "Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India" and "Sukhvinder Singh v. Union of India," which emphasize the presumption of attributability for disabilities arising during military service unless proven otherwise.
The court's decision not only reaffirmed the AFT's order but also highlighted the legal principle that the burden of disproving the attributability of a disability lies with the employer, particularly when no disability was recorded at the time of the individual's enrolment in the armed forces.
This judgment underscores the judiciary's commitment to ensuring fair treatment and benefits for military personnel who develop disabilities during their service, reinforcing their right to adequate compensation and support.
Bottom line:-
Armed Forces Tribunal upheld the respondent's entitlement to disability pension, including rounding off, despite the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) overruling the Review Medical Board's assessment of disability.
Statutory provision(s): Army Rules, 1954, Supreme Court Precedents on Disability Pension
Union of India v. Ex NK Roshan Lal, (Jammu And Kashmir)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2911426
