Delhi High Court upholds disability pension order for two Army personnel

Delhi High Court upholds Armed Forces Tribunal's decision on disability pension for soldiers, emphasizing the sacrifices made in service.

The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal directing payment of disability pension to two Army personnel, and underscored that soldiers defend the country often in harsh and inhospitable conditions and the possibility of disease and disability come as a package deal with the desire to serve the country.

In a judgment passed on March 27, a Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar andJustice Ajay Digpaulrecalled former U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s “stirring words” on patriotism, and said that while “we sip our hot cappuccinos by the fireplace”, soldiers are “braving icy winds at the border, willing to lay down their lives at a moment’s notice”.

“The possibility of disease and disability, therefore, comes as a package deal with the desire and determination to serve the country. The bravest of soldiers is prone, given the conditions in which he serves the nation, to fall prey to bodily ailments, which, at times, may be disabling in nature, rendering him unable to continue in military service,” the court said.

“In such circumstances, the least that the nation can do, by way of recompense for the selfless service that the soldier has lent it, is to provide comfort and solace during the years that remain,” it added.

The Centre had challenged orders of the tribunal allowing disability pension to a former officer who was enrolled in 1985 and discharged from service in 2015 as he suffered from Type 2 diabetes.

Relief was also given by the tribunal to another officer in the Army’s Defence Security Corps, who was denied disability pension despite suffering from “peripheral arterial occlusive disease [in the] right lower limb”.

The Centre argued that the officers were on “peace posting” and their disease was not attributable to or aggravated by their military service.