The Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 15) dismissed 271 appeals by the Union Government against disability pensions given to ex-servicemen within 15 years of retirement. The Court said that even though the 2008 Rules removed the presumption that a soldier was fit at entry, this does not help the employer. The Union of India must still prove that the disability was neither attributable nor aggravated (NANA) by military service.

A bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe delivered a judgment while hearing the Union's appeals against the orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) and various High Courts which had granted disability pension to ex-servicemen.

In each case, a Release Medical Board (RMB) had opined that the disability was "neither attributable nor aggravated" (NANA) by military service. The ex-servicemen's appeals were dismissed, following which they approached the AFT or High Courts, which granted them disability pension. Against this, the Union moved to the Supreme Court.

Before the Supreme Court, the Attorney General R. Venkataramani for the Union, argued against the grant of disability pension under the applicable 2008 Entitlement Rules. He contended that unlike 1982 Entitlement Rules, which created a presumption of fitness, thereby linking disability to the service, the applicable 2008 Entitlement Rules provisions otherwise, as the presumption of fitness while joining the service is removed from the 2008 Entitlement Rules. According to him, now the servicemen can't claim disability automatically without showing causal connection with the service.

He also questioned the reliance of 2013 judgment of Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India by various AFT or High Courts, arguing that since the Dharamvir Singh ruling was delivered in the context of 1982 Entitlement Rules, therefore, the matters pertaining to 2008 Entitlement Rules cannot be decided in light of Dharamvir Singh.

The Respondents, ex-serviceman, countered the Union's stand stating that though the 2008 Entitlement Rules done away with presumption of fitness, it doesn't change the core scheme of the Entitlement Rules 2008 because the other beneficial provisions broadly remain untouched.

The core legal issue before the Court was whether the Entitlement Rules 2008 made a significant departure from the Entitlement Rules 1982, particularly with respect to the presumption of sound health at entry into service, the burden of proof in disability pension claims, the requirement of causal connection between the disability and military service, and the treatment of aggravation of pre-existing conditions.

In an elaborative judgment, the Court undertook a detailed comparison of the 1982 and 2008 Rules. It accepted that the 2008 Rules made an important change by removing the earlier presumption that a member who entered service in sound condition and subsequently left with a disability would be presumed to have suffered that disability on account of service. The 2008 Rules also expressly require consideration of causal connection.

However, the Court held that these changes did not, by themselves, dismantle the core claimant-protective framework.

“…mere addition of a causal requirement and a removal of the presumption that when a member joins service healthy, and, if, he leaves with a disability, it ought to be attributable to the military service, does not, by itself, change the core scheme of the Entitlement Rules 2008 because the other beneficial provisions broadly remain untouched. The onus to prove that the member's disability is not attributable to service still lies on the employer. The relevant rules regarding attributability and aggravation continue to hold that if cause of disability is unknown, and presumption of attributability is not rebutted, then the disability is attributable to service.”, the Court observed.

Thus, the removal of the earlier entry-stage presumption does not mean that every disability claim under the 2008 Rules places the initial burden entirely upon the serviceman.

“…even though Entitlement Rules 2008 removed the automatic presumption and strengthened the requirement of causal nexus, they did not dismantle the claimant-protective structure of the Rules, particularly the continued allocation of primary burden to the establishment and beneficial principles governing attributability, aggravation and reasonable doubt.”, the Court said.

Under 2008 Rules, the Court emphasized that for claims made within 15 years, the general beneficial burden-of-proof framework continues to operate in ex-serviceman favour. But where the claim is preferred after the stipulated 15-year period, the ex-serviceman bears the burden of establishing the conditions of entitlement.

Dharamvir Singh cannot be applied mechanically while deciding cases in the context 1982 Rules

The Court noted that Dharamvir Singh was decided on an examination of the 1961 Regulations read with the Entitlement Rules 1982. Therefore, courts and tribunals dealing with claims governed by the 2008 Rules must examine the provisions applicable to those claims instead of automatically applying the earlier principles.

“Dharamvir Singh, having been decided in the context of the Entitlement Rules 1982 and on its particular factual foundation, cannot be mechanically applied to cases governed by the Entitlement Rules 2008. In particular, the decision cannot be understood as creating an irrebuttable or automatic presumption that every disability first manifested during service is attributable to military service.”, the Court said.

Union may identify claims which were decided based on mechanical application of Dharamvir Singh

“If the medical board and the appeals had rejected the claim but the AFT or the High Court have routinely allowed the application or the Writ Petition by following the principle of presumption or the decision in Dharamvir without a detailed examination of the evidence adduced by the ex-servicemen in support of their case, then there is certainly a case for revisiting those decisions. It is for the Union to identify such cases and raise appropriate objections to demonstrate that the burden is discharged or not.”, the Court said.

Union criticized for filing time-barred appeals

The Court also criticised the Union for filing the belated appeals challenging disability pension.

“The sad part of this litigation is that, out of around 271 Civil Appeals and Special Leave Petitions, most of them are barred by limitation. Many similar appeals that were barred by limitation have already been dismissed in the past; the present batch is only a small number that survive. Moreover, it is significant to note that the number of appeals rejected at the first appellate stage, after a dismissal by the RMB, far exceeds those accepted. As per information obtained under the Right to Information Act, 2005, of the 2,997 appeals before the First Appellate Authority, almost 2,855 of the claims were rejected and only 142 appeals are accepted. Before the Second Appellate Authority, out of 456 appeals, 439 were rejected and only 17 appeals are accepted.”, the Court observed.

Cause Title: UNION OF INDIA & ORS. VERSUS COL. NC ISAAC (RETD.) (with connected matters)

Citation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 935

Click here to download judgment

Appearance:

For Petitioner(s) :Mr. R. Venkatramani, Attorney General for India Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, A.S.G. Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR Dr. Abhishek Khanna, Adv. Mr. Parmod Kumar Vishnoi, Adv. Mr. Chitvan Singhal, Adv. Ms. Ameyavikrama Thanvi, Adv. Mr. Kartikay Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Kr. Pandey, Adv. Mr. Raman Yadav, Adv. Mr. Jagdish Chandra, Adv. Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, A.S.G. Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR Mr. Jagdish Chandra, Adv. Mr. Parmod Kumar Vishnoi, Adv. Mr. Rishi Raj Singh, Adv. Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, A.S.G. Mr. Jagdish Chandra, Adv. Mr. Pramod Vishnoi, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Khanna, Adv. Ms. Shreya Jain, Adv. Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR Petitioner-in-person Mr. A. Radhakrishnan, AOR Mr. Sujeet Ranjan, Adv. Ms. Astha Deep, Adv. Mr. Shivkumar, Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR

For Respondent(s) : Dr. Shashi Kiran, Sr. Adv. Mr. S. S. Pandey, Adv. Mr. Bikram Sah, Adv. Mr. Vivek Bhai Patel, Adv. Mr. U. S. Maurya, Adv. Mr. S. S. Maurya, Adv. Mr. S. K. Devrani, Adv. Ms. Mamta Pannikar, Adv. Mr. I.S.Yadav, Adv. Mr. Mahir, Adv. Ms. Shivani Yadav, Adv. Mr. Ajeet Yadav, AOR Mr. Mamidipudi Venkatarama Mukunda, AOR Mr. Siddhant Sharma, AOR Mr. Rajesh Sehgal, Adv. Mr. Vikram Choudhary, Adv. Mr. Snehil Himanshu, Adv. Caveator-in-person, AOR Mr. Arvind Kumar Tewari, AOR Dr. Abhay Kant Upadhyay, Adv. Mr. Madan Pal Vats, Adv. Mr. Kumar Devendra Singh, Adv. Mr. Anuj Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Krishna Kumar, Adv. Mr. Raj Kishor Choudhary, AOR Ms. Archana Ramesh, Adv. Mr. Maj K. Ramesh, Adv. Mr. Vibhuti Sushant Gupta, Adv. Mr. Narender Kumar Verma, AOR Mr. Mamidipudi Venkatarama Mukunda, AOR Ms. Mannat Waraich , AOR Mr. Arvinder Singh, Adv. Mr. Vibhuti Sushant Gupta, Adv. Mr. Narender Kumar Verma, AOR Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR Mr. Satya Kam Sharma , AOR Mr. Vardhman Kaushik, AOR Mr. Dhruv Joshi, Adv. Mr. Arindam Sarin, Adv. Ms. Kavya Shukla, Adv. Ms. Anzu. K. Varkey, AOR Mr. M. K. Gaur, Adv. Mr. Suku Thomas, Adv. Mr. Akshat Malpani, Adv. Mr. Rahul Gupta, AOR Mr. Shashibhushan P. Adgaonkar, AOR Mr. Col Amit Kumar, Adv. Mr. Anoop Raj, Adv. Mr. Chirag Zanwar, Adv. Mr. Baldev Singh, Adv. Mr. Divyansh Thakur, Adv. Mr. Rajeev Kumar Gupta, Adv. Mr. Roopesh Singh Bhadauria, Adv. Ms. Anya Singh, Adv. Mr. Bimlesh Kumar Singh, AOR Mr. Akash Sajan Sapelkar, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Dahiya, AOR Ms. Pallavi Awasthi, Adv. Mr. J P Sharma, Adv. Mr. Jp Sharma, Adv. Mr. Praveen Kumar, Adv. Mr. Sahil Sharma, Adv. Mr. Abhimanyu Sharma, Adv. Mr. Aditya Dahiya, Adv. Mr. Anmol Verma, Adv. Ms. Nisha, Adv. Mr. Ved Prakash, Adv. Mr. Aakash Dahiya, Adv. Mr. Durgesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Anne Mathew, AOR Mr. Indraj Yadav, Adv. Mr. Ajit Kakkar, Adv. Mr. Tejas, Adv. Mr. Santosh Kumar Pandey, AOR Ms. Kanti, AOR Mr. Himanshu Gupta, Adv. Mr. Manoj C. Mishra, AOR Ms. Saumya, Adv. Mr. Arjun Singh Bhati, AOR Mr. Jaswant Singh Rawat, AOR Mr. Sudhakar Singh Maurya, Adv. Mr. Manoj Gupta, Adv. Mr. U S Maurya, Adv. Mr. Lokesh Raghav, Adv. Mr. Keshav Rai, Adv. Mr. Dharmendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Kamal Singh Bisht, Adv. Dr. G. Sivabalamurugan, AOR Mr. Puru Mudgal, Adv. Mr. Manoj Kumar Awasthi, Adv. Ms. Tanya Sharma, Adv. Mr. Tushar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Randhir Kumar Ojha, AOR Mr. Rakesh Kumar Yadav, Adv. Mr. Ashok Kumar Jha, Adv. Ms. Ruchi Gupta, AOR Mr. Chritarth Palli, AOR Mr. Indra Sen Singh, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Singh, Adv. Mr. Anuj Kapoor, AOR Mr. Nasir Mohammad, Adv. Mr. Indra Sen Singh, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Singh, Adv. Mr. Nasir Mohammad, Adv. Mr. Anuj Kapoor, AOR Mr. Neeraj Kumar Rai, Adv. Mr. Abhinav S. Raghuvanshi, AOR Mr. Yashpal Singh, Adv. Ms. Shweta, Adv. Ms. Nimisha, Adv. Mr. Abhed Kumar, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Kumar Singh, AOR Ms. Laxmipriya Nath, Adv. Mr. Amrendra Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Durgesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Shivani Yadav, Adv. Mr. Cs Prakash, Adv. Mr. Kritendra Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Amit Ashthana, Adv. Ms. Sunidhi Pandey, Adv. Mr. Os Punia, Adv. Mr. Vikrama Sah, Adv. Ms. Suman Kaintura, Adv. Ms. Rajani Kumari, Adv. Mr. Vivek Bhai Patel, Adv. Mr. Sonu Kumar, Adv. Mr. Y Venugopal, Adv. Mr. Ashish Punia, Adv. Mr. Sk Devrani, Adv. Mr. Raj Kumar, Adv. Mr. Manish Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Nawneet Mishra, Adv. Mr. Mritunjay, Adv. Mr. Ravi Kumar, Adv. Mr. Abhinav Sharma, Adv. Mr. Bharat Singh, Adv. 16 Mr. Tatsat Shukla, Adv. Mr. Vikash Kumar, Adv. Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Adv. Mr. Pardeep Gupta, Adv. Mr. Parinav Gupta, Adv. Mrs. Mansi Gupta, Adv. Mr. Krishna Kumar, Adv. Ms. Nandani Gupta, Adv. Mr. Sushant Dogra, Adv. Dr. Mrs. Vipin Gupta, AOR Mr. Anil Srivastava, Adv. Mr. Aditya Saxena, Adv. Mr. Tejas Patel, AOR Mr. Abhishek Gahlyan, Adv. Ms. Deepika Sheoran, Adv. Mr. Baljeet Singh, Adv. Mr. Utsav Jain, AOR Mr. Nishanth Patil, AOR Mr. Ram Kishor Singh Yadav, AOR Ms. Priyanka Singh, Adv. Ms. Prachi Sharma, Adv. Mr. Satyarth Kumar, Adv. Mr. Tuhin Lavania, Adv. Mr. Mamidipudi Venkatarama Mukunda, AOR Mr. Aditya Puar, Adv. Ms. Shalani Puar, Adv. Mr. Aakash Kundu, Adv. Dr. Abhijeet Sharma, Adv. Mr. Jai Singh, Adv. Mr. Parveen, Adv. Mr. Adv Shahbaaz Jameel, Adv. Mr. Vikrm A Seth, Adv. Mr. Mohd Waseem, Adv. Mr. Kausar Raza Faridi, AOR Mr. Piyush Sharma, AOR Ms. Priyanka Sanyal, Adv. Mr. Anand Shankar Jha, AOR Ms. Meenakshi S Devgan, Adv. Mr. Abhilekh Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Sachin Mintri, Adv. Mr. Parvez Rahman, Adv. Ms. Sadhana Sandhu, AOR Dr. Satish Chandra, Adv. Ms. Sangeeta Bhalla, Adv. Mr. Arjun Sain, Adv. Ms. Joshmine Minj, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Mohan Kumar, AOR Ms. Neetu Singh, Adv. Ms. Ishika, Adv. Ms. Asia Beg, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Pandey, Adv. Mr. Vishesh Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Sandeep Bsnsal, Adv. Mr. Ramesh Chandra, Adv. Mr. Jaspal Singh, Adv. Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shivansh Bharatkumar Pandya, AOR Ms. Somya Tyagi, Adv. Ms. Swapnil Singh, Adv. Mr. Vishal Kumar Yadav, Adv. Mr. Zulfikar Lakdawala, Adv. Ms. Namrah Nasir, Adv. Ms. Ramsha Hashmi, Adv. Dr. Brij Bhushan K Jauhari, Adv. Mr. Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal, Adv. Dr. Sushil Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. O.p.singh, Adv. Mr. Harsh Mahan, Adv. Ms. Purnima Jauhari, AOR Mrs. Sangeeta Tomar, Adv. Ms. Sudha Pal, Adv. Ms. Stanzin Choskit, Adv. Mr. Satyavir Singh Rana, Adv. Mr. Manu Krishnan G, AOR Mr. Ajeet Yadav, AOR Mr. Praveen Payal, Adv. Mr. Durgesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Praveen Kumar, Adv. Mr. Aditya Singh Puar, Adv. Mr. Mv Mukanda, Adv. Ms. Shalini Puar, Adv. Mr. Prabhash Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Vivek Bhai Patel, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Upadhayay, Adv. Mr. Davinder Kumar Rawat, Adv. Mr. Satya Narayan, Adv. Mr. Mahir Arifi, Adv. Mr. Dhananjai Shekhawat, Adv. Mr. Archit Jain, Adv. Ms. Shilpa Singh, AOR Mr. Nishant Kumar, AOR Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, AOR Ms. Lalit Mohini Bhat, Adv. Mr. Siddarth Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Siddartyh Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Anirudh Bhat, Adv. Ms. Kanak Bathwal, Adv. Mr. Sanidhya Kumar, Adv. Ms. Riya Sachdeva, Adv. Mr. Puru Mudgil, Adv. Mr. Manoj Kumar Awasthi, Adv. Ms. Laxmi Kumari, AOR Ms. Tanya Sharma, Adv. Mr. Tushar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kumar, AOR Mr. P. N. Puri, AOR Mrs. Reeta Dewan Puri, Adv. Ms. Smriti Puri, Adv. Mr. Dhiraj, Adv. Mr. Suresh Kumar Bhan, Adv. Dr. Saurabh Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Vishal Mahajan, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar, Adv. Ms. Divya Kumari Sharma, Adv. Mr. Vinod Sharma, AOR Ms. Anu Priya, Adv. Mr. Harshal B Kulkarni, Adv. Ms. Shriya Maini, AOR Mr. Rajive Maini, Adv. Mr. Varun Varma, Adv. Mr. Prashant Khari, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Sarthak Upadhyaya, Adv. Mr. T. Hari Hara Sudhan, AOR Mr. Akhileshwar, Adv. Mr. Aastha Sharma, Adv. Mr. Raghav Sharma, Adv. 19 Mr. Dhruv Goyal, Adv.