Supreme Court comes to rescue of former soldier whose disability pension was confined to 1 year

The Supreme Court recently set aside an order that had limited a former soldier's disability pension payments to 1 year, after noting that the Army Pension Regulations of 1961 laid down that such pension should be paid for a minimum of 10 years at the first instance. [Ex L/Nk Rajput Ajit Singh vs Union of India and ors].The top court granted the soldier relief and extended the payment period by 10 years..In the order dated September 12, a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar also observed that the decision to limit the disability pension payments was not logical, considering the facts surrounding the case. .Pertinently, the Court noted that a medical board had earlier held that the soldier's disability was not attributable to his army service only because he had earlier been unwilling to undergo a 'life threatening' surgery. At the same time, the soldier's records also said that he was discharged from service owing to his 'permanent disablement, the Court found. "Given all these factors, the Armed Forces Appellate Tribunal's decision to confine the disability benefit to one year does not appear logical . Tribunal was either not cognizant of or chose not to give any reasons in support of departing from the norm indicated in Rule 185 (of the Pension Regulations)," the Court observed. .The Court was hearing an appeal filed by a former lance naik rank soldier who had served in the Indian Army for 15 years before he was discharged in 1987.This was after he had experienced some heart problems. It was found to be a case covered under disability treatment for which he was eligible for pension..He, therefore, made a claim for the re-assessment of the disability component of his pension. Later he also underwent surgery to insert a pacemaker in 2018. After this surgery, he filed another re-assessment claim.A medical board held that while he was entitled to disability pension at 100 percent, this payment could only be made for a year. .After the soldier challenged this order, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) also held that though he was entitled to disability pension, it could only be for a year. This order was challenged before the Supreme Court by the soldier. The top court, in turn, allowed the soldier's appeal. .Among other factors, the top court noted that even the medical board had not been of the opinion that there was any negligence on the part of the soldier. Further, his records were shown to be exemplary. It further found that the AFT had ignored Rule 185 of the Pension Regulations for the Army, which said that disability pension should be granted for a period of 10 years in the first instance. Thereafter, the claimant has a right to seek reassessment after this 10-year-period. .Accordingly, the Supreme Court ordered that disability pension be disbursed to the appellant-soldier for 10 years, after which a re-assessment may be conducted. .Advocates Liz Mathew, Mallika Agarwal, and Nisarg Bhardwaj appeared for the Lance Naik Rajput Ajit Singh. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati with advocates R Bala, Anmol Chandan, Saransh Kumar, Ameyavikrama Thanvi, and Arvind Kumar Sharma represented the Central government..[Read Order]