Hypertension, Diabetes Can't Be Branded As 'Lifestyle Diseases' To Deny Disability Pension To Armed Force Personnel: Bombay High Court

Observing that a pension is not a bounty payable on the sweet-will and pleasure of the government, the Bombay High Court recently upheld the judgment of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Mumbai, which granted 'disability' pension to Army and Navy personnel for sustaining diseases like Diabetes, Spondylitis, Hypertension etc on the ground that these 'disabilities' were attributable to their service or either aggravated during their service. A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad while upholding the AFT Mumbai's order noted that pension is not only a compensation for loyal services rendered in the past but it has a broader significance and it is a measure of socio-economic justice which inheres economic security in the fall of life when physical and mental prowess is ebbing corresponding to the aging process. "The disability pension provided to the military personnel has a similar object. The military personnel who is unable to perform his duty and invalided out from service on medical ground deserves grant of pension. Pension is not a bounty payable on sweet-will and pleasure of the government. The right to pension is a valuable right vested in a government servant," the judges observed in the order passed on January 23. While dismissing the argument of the Union Government and its Medical Boards that diseases like Obesity, Diabetes, etc are 'constitutional or lifestyle' disorders, the judges observed, "We do not think that the rule makers intended to deprive the military personnel of the benefit of the disability pension on the ground of delay or constitutional disorder or disease even if such invaliding diseases occurred while in military service. This is not correct to say that the onus to prove that the disability occurred on account of military service has shifted to the military personnel."For example, the judges explained, it would be absolutely impossible for a military personnel to prove that he suffers from hypertension on account of rigours of the duty in military service. "Just to indicate, hypertension is a notified disease which is recognized by the Army and Navy a disease which entitles the military personnel to seek disability pension," the bench pointed out. In its 44-page judgment, the bench said that it was a duty of the Tribunal to interpret the beneficial provisions under the Rules in a liberal manner and not to restrict the benefits flowing thereunder to the military personnel who suffered invalidation in course of their service. "The decision of the Tribunal is not liable to interference on showing some mistakes committed by it in the process of adjudication. The High Court in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India may interfere with the decision of an inferior Tribunal where it is demonstrated that the Tribunal passed an order ignoring the material and relevant facts or considered such irrelevant materials which rendered its decision perverse. We do not find any such case made out by the Union of India in this batch of writ petitions," the judges said while dismissing a clutch of petitions initiated by the Union Government.Notably, the Tribunal had granted disability pension in cases where personnel were either invalided out of service or retired in low medical category, holding that their disabilities were attributable to or aggravated by military service. The disabilities included conditions such as diabetes mellitus, primary hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative colitis, chronic myeloid leukemia, panic disorder, and other ailments.Among the batch of petitions, the bench considered the case of Lt. Col. SK Rathore as a lead case, who served Army for nearly 23 years and was posted in operational ]areas including Ladakh, Manipur during Operation Rakshak and Operation Parakram. He was released from service in 'low medical category' in 2003, the judges noted. The bench noted that though the Medical Board noted that his health was affected due to continued difficult service conditions, the Invaliding Medical Board opined that diabetes mellitus was a constitutional disorder and not connected with military service. The Tribunal, however, allowed his claim for disability pension, holding that the disease was aggravated by service.It was the Union Government's argument that the opinion of its Medical Boards, comprising trained medical experts, would be final and could not be interfered with by the Tribunal. It further argued that lifestyle diseases detected during service, particularly at peace stations, could not automatically be treated as attributable to or aggravated by military service.After examining multiple Army and Navy cases forming part of the batch, the Court found no error in the AFT's approach. The writ petitions filed by the Union Government were accordingly dismissed, and the orders granting disability pension to the Army and...

Hypertension, Diabetes Can't Be Branded As 'Lifestyle Diseases' To Deny Disability Pension To Armed Force Personnel: Bombay High Court

Narsi Benwal

Tags