Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, July 16
About 35 years after he was released from the Army, a short service commission officer has been granted disability pension after the Armed Forces Tribunal reaffirmed that medical disorders incurred while serving in peace stations are attributable to military service.
The officer, of the rank of Captain, was commissioned in August 1982 and was released in low medical category for labile hypertension in April 1988 after completion of his term of engagement.
Before his release, despite being in low medical category, his release medical board was not conducted to assess the extent of disability. The authorities concerned kept communicating with each other for the conduct of the board, which was finally conducted only on the directions of the Tribunal.
The board assessed his disability at 20 percent for life, but held it as neither attributable to nor aggravated to military service on grounds that the disease was contacted when the officer was posted at a peace station. Two appeals filed against the denial of disability benefits were also rejected.
The Tribunal’s Chandigarh Bench comprising Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh observed that the disability of hypertension is clearly listed in the entitlement rules as one which is affected by stress and strain of military service.
The bench said that the medical board has failed to record cogent and plausible reasons for holding that the disease was not connected with military service and the only explanation offered that the disability was incurred in a peace area was “absurd and cryptic”, against rules and judicial interpretation and hence not legally sustainable.
Referring to an earlier judgement of the Supreme Court, the Bench said that such disabilities are not incurred upon in a fortnight but diagnosed after the individual has rendered military service for year together.
“Above all, in Army service a soldier is under stress and strain due to a variety of reasons like climate, geographic and being away from the family and hence the origin of disability in peace area or hard area is not of much consequence,” the Bench observed.
Quashing the orders rejecting his disability pension, the Bench ruled that he is entitled to the benefits for life and directed the Ministry of Defence to calculate and release the same with effect from the date of his release.