Jammu and Kashmir High Court Upholds Ex-Army Man's Disability Pension Citing Service Stress
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has affirmed a decision granting disability pension to a former Army havaldar, emphasizing that the stress and strain of military service significantly contributed to his health deterioration. A bench comprising Justices Sanjeev Kumar and Sanjay Parihar dismissed an appeal by the Centre, stating that the Armed Forces Tribunal's (AFT) ruling was legally sound and required no intervention under extraordinary writ jurisdiction.
Court Highlights Impact of Military Life on Health
In its judgment, the court detailed how factors like isolation, separation from family, financial crises, and disruptions in child education create prolonged tension and anxiety, exacerbating medical conditions. The officer, enrolled in 1995 and discharged in 2019, was diagnosed with primary hypertension at 30% and impaired fasting glucose at 15-19%, assessed as a 40% composite disability by the Release Medical Board (RMB).
The court noted that while the RMB initially deemed the hypertension not attributable to service, it failed to provide clear medical reasoning. Under the 2008 Entitlement Rules, the burden of proof lies with the state to demonstrate no causal link between disability and military service. The judgment cited the Guide to Medical Officers, which mandates consideration of the entire service career, including field deployments that may aggravate conditions like hypertension.
Legal Battle Over Pension Entitlement
The officer's disability pension claim was rejected twice in 2020, leading him to approach the AFT. The AFT ruled in his favor, awarding a 50% disability pension for life, though arrears were limited to three years prior to the application. The Centre contested this, arguing the net assessment fell below the 20% threshold for eligibility.
However, the High Court upheld the AFT's decision, stating that the RMB's one-line opinion was insufficient to deny benefits. It emphasized that service compulsion clearly aggravated the hypertension, making the officer entitled to compensation under existing regulations.
This ruling reinforces the legal precedent that military personnel deserve fair consideration for disabilities linked to their service, particularly when stress and operational demands are involved.
