The Delhi High Court has rejected around 300 petitions filed by the Union government challenging the grant of disability pension to soldiers.
The Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur upheld the verdict passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), entitling the service personnel for disability pensions.
While dismissing the petitions filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the High Court observed that disability pension to armed forces personnel was not an act of generosity, but a rightful and just acknowledgement of the sacrifices endured by them, which manifested in the form of disabilities/disorders suffered during the course of their military service.
The measure upheld the State’s responsibility towards its soldiers, who served the nation with courage and devotion, while ensuring that a soldier who suffered injury or disability due to service conditions was not left without support and able to live with financial security and dignity, added the High Court.
The Union government approached the High Court on the grounds that the medical condition of the soldiers involved in this batch of cases was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service and therefore, they were not entitled to disability element of the pension.
Appearing for the MoD, Attorney General R Venkataramani argued that the presumption that a member of the force was deemed to have been in sound physical and mental health upon entering service, unless disabilities were noted at the time of enlistment, did not exist anymore.
Terming the reason stated by the Centre as disheartening, the Division Bench held that disability pension could not be denied to soldiers solely on the ground that the onset of the disability occurred while they were posted at a peace station. Such perception overlooks the continuous physical and mental stress faced by soldiers.
The soldiers, whether in hard areas, on front lines or at a peace station, were never far away from a threat. This environment, where danger was a constant reality for their peers and could become their own at any moment, created a persistent state of mental and emotional strain that could not be overlooked. Thus, military service, whether in peace locations or operational zones, inherently carries stress that may predispose Force personnel to medical conditions such as hypertension, it added.