Army officer granted disability pension after 35 years; ailment in peace areas attributed to military service

Chandigarh, July 16: After a long legal battle, a short service commission officer who served in the Army has finally been granted disability pension by the Armed Forces Tribunal. The Tribunal reaffirmed that medical disorders incurred during service in peace stations are attributable to military service, entitling the officer to lifelong benefits.

The officer, who held the rank of Captain, was commissioned in August 1982 and released in April 1988 due to labile hypertension. Despite being in a low medical category, his release medical board was not conducted to assess the extent of disability.

Only after the intervention of the Tribunal, the board was finally conducted, which assessed his disability at 20 percent for life. However, the board initially held that the disease was not connected to military service as it was contracted during a posting in a peace station.

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The Armed Forces Tribunal's Chandigarh Bench, comprising Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, declared that hypertension is clearly listed as a disability affected by the stress and strain of military service. The bench criticized the medical board's reasoning for not attributing the disability to military service, terming it "absurd and cryptic" and against legal principles.

The Bench emphasized that disabilities like hypertension are not acquired suddenly but diagnosed after years of military service. It highlighted the stress and strain faced by soldiers due to various factors such as climate, geography, and separation from family, emphasizing that the origin of disability in peace or hard areas is of minimal consequence.

Quashing the earlier rejections of disability pension, the Bench ruled in favor of the officer, entitling him to lifelong benefits. The Ministry of Defence has been directed to calculate and release the disability pension, effective from the date of the officer's release.

After decades of legal struggle, the officer's perseverance has paid off, and he has finally been granted the disability pension he deserves. The Tribunal's ruling recognising the attribution of medical disorders to military service sets an important precedent for others in similar situations. This decision ensures that military personnel are properly compensated for disabilities incurred during their dedicated service to the nation.

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- With inputs from agencies

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