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Judgment
C. Hari Shankar, J
These writ petitions deal with the entitlement of the respondents to disability pension. The Union of India assails decisions of the Armed Forces Tribunal, whereby disability pension stands granted to the respondents.
These cases stand covered by as on date more than eighty judgments passed by this Bench as well as by a Coordinate Bench of this Court. They also stand covered by the judgment of the Supreme Court in Dharamvir Singh v UOI (2013) 7 SCC 316 as well as the recent decision of the Supreme Court in Vijender Singh v UOI 2025 SCC OnLIne SC 895.
Against one of these decisions, which was rendered by us in UOI v Ex Sub Gawas Anil Madso 2025 SCC OnLine 2018, an SLP has been preferred before the Supreme Court in which notice alone has been issued and no interim orders have been passed.
We are not informed that any SLP has been preferred against any of the other matters passed by this Bench or the Coordinate Bench.
Learned Counsel for the Union of India in all these matters fairly acknowledged that the controversy stands covered by the above decisions.
In its recent decision in Union Territory of Ladakh v Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1140, the Supreme Court has deprecated the practice of hierarchically lower Courts including the High Courts keeping matters pending merely because some issue is pending before the Supreme Court. Even where the correctness of a judgment has been doubted by the Supreme Court, the decision in Jammu & Kashmir National Conference directs High Courts to implement the law as it stands and not to adjourn matters awaiting the outcome of the appeals in the Supreme Court.
We have taken stock of this judgment in para 60 of the judgment in Gawas Anil Madso.
We, therefore, proceed to decide these writ petitions on the basis of the decisions taken by this Court.
A tabular statement of the position as it emerges in all these writ petitions, including the decisions by which the individual writ petitions, may be provided thus:
S No
WP(C) No.
Name of Respondent
Disability
Years of service
Reasoning given by the RMB
1.
W.P.(C) 13731/2024
Ex SGT
Babu Lal Yadav
Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (Left Eye)
33
Onset of disability on Oct 2012 at peace station Sirsa. It is associated with hypertension & hyper-viscosity syndrome in
leukaemia and polycythaemia vera. The vision of right eye have improved. No stress and strain of service. Hence, NANA as per para 24( d) (ii) GMO
2008.
2.
W.P.(C) 804/2025
Ex MWO HFO
Kailash Chand 649518
i. Diabetes Type-II
ii.Primary Hypertension
37
Onset in peace and served in peace as per Paras 26 and 43
of GMO 2008.
Hence, NANA
3.
W.P.(C) 821/2025
HFO Retd. Hradyesh Kumar Varshney
i. Diabetes Type-II
ii.Primary Hypertension
iii. Coronary Artery Disease
37
Life Style Disease, Onset of disability white in peace. No delay in diagnosis/ treatment of indl.
No close time connection with HAA/Cl Ops/Fd area as per Para 26 and 43 of Ch VI of GMO 2008 and charter of duties dt. 22 January 2015.
4.
W.P.(C) 824/2025
Ex WO
Sadananda Rautaray 633050 R
Diabetes Type-II
36
Life Style Disease, onset on May 2010 while in peace area. No delay in diagnosis/treatment of individual.
No close time connection-HAA/ CIOps /Fd Area as per Para 26 of Ch VI of GMO 2008.
5.
W.P.(C) 990/2025
Ex SGT
Mukesh Kumar Pandey
Primary Hypertension
20
Onset of disease in peace area at New Delhi. No· history of infection, service-related trauma/close time association with stress of Fd/HAA/ ClOps service.
Hence NANA as per para 43 of GMO 2008.
6.
W.P.(C) 1019/2025
Ex MWO
Vijender Singh Teotia
Central Serous Chorioretinop
-athy Right Eye
38
Disease-progressed without any link to service conditions/ stress and no evidence of delay or adverse factors, is deemed NANA as per para 24(d)(i) of GMO 2008.
7.
W.P.(C) 1031/2025
HFL
Narayanasa my Nammalwar (Retd.)
Primary Hypertension
37
An idiopathic and lifestyle disease onset in peace station and served thereafter in peace station.
8.
W.P.(C) 1277/2025
SGT Pinaki Choudhary (Retd.)
Primary Hypertension
23
Life style disease. Onset on February 2016 in peace area. No close time connection with- HAA/ ClOps/Fd area as per Para 43 of Ch VI of GMO 2008.
9.
W.P.(C) 1279/2025
EX MWO
HFL Amrit Lal Sekhri
ECG
Abnormality (LBBB)
39
Neither attributable to nor aggravated by Mil service as per Para 20 of GMO 2008
10.
W.P.(C) 1468/2025
GP Capt. Vinay Sareen
i.Diabetes Mellitus Type II
ii.Primary Hypertension
iii.Dyslipidae
-mia
33
Disease (i) and (ii) is life style
disorder. Onset while in peace area. No delay in diagnosis/treatment of individual.
No close time connection with- HAA/ClOps/Fd area as per Para 26 and 43 of Ch VI of GMO 2008.
11.
W.P.(C) 1472/2025
EX WO
Surendra Kumar Singh
Primary Hypertension
37
Life style disorder. Onset of disability in peace-area (Allahabad).
No close time connection with- HAA/ClOps/Fd area. No delay in diagnosis and there was no stress/strain of service Hence, NANA as per Para
43 of Ch VI of GMO 2008.
12.
W.P.(C) 1707/2025
EX MWO
Bijay Kumar Sah
CAD AWMI
37
No service related trauma/stress or delay in diagnosis or treatment. The condition is held neither attributable to nor aggravated by service as per Para 47 of Chapter
VI of GMO 2008
and Charter of Duties dated 16
January 2014.
13.
W.P.(C) 1724/2025
EX NC E
Ratan Lal Das
i.Diabetes Mellitus Type II
ii.Primary Hypertension
29
Disease (i) and (ii) is life style
disorder. Onset while in peace area. No delay in diagnosis/treatment of individual.
No close time connection with- HAA/ClOps/Fd area as per Para 26 and 43 of Ch VI of GMO 2008.
14.
W.P.(C) 1725/2025
EX MWO
Shyam Singh
Primary Hypertension
37
Life style disease. Onset of disability in peace area.
No close time connection with- HAA/ClOps/Fd area as per Para 43 of Ch VI of GMO 2008.
15.
W.P.(C) 1885/2025
EX WO
Dubey Awdhash Narayan
i.Diabetes Mellitus Type II
ii.Primary Hypertension
37
Life Style Disease, onset on February 2016 of in peace area. No close time connection with- HAA/ClOps/Fd area as per Paras 26 and 43 of Ch VI
of GMO 2008.
16.
W.P.(C) 1907/2025
HFO
Ramanand Saini
i.Pulmonary Thrombo Embolism with Pulmonary Hypertension
ii.Primary Hypertension
37
Onset on Oct 2009 while posted to Peace area. An idiopathic disorder and no delay in diagnosis. There is no close time association with stress or strain of service. Hence NANA.
17.
W.P.(C) 1986/2025
EX SGT
Anil Kumar
CAD ASMI
20
Onset on 13
November 2003 in peace area.
No service related trauma/stress or delay in diagnosis or treatment. The condition is held neither attributable
to nor aggravated by service.
18.
W.P.(C) 2011/2025
JWO
Madan Lal Kaushik
Primary Hypertension
37
Aggravation is conceded when the onset occurs while serving in Fd/CI Ops/HAA. Hence, NANA as per Para 43 of GMO 2008.
19.
W.P.(C) 2093/2025
EX SGT
Somnath Pal
Primary Hypertension
20
Onset in peace area and remains in peace area, hence NANA vide Para 43 of GMO 2008.
20.
W.P.(C) 2524/2025
EX Sub Shamsheer Singh
Primary Hypertension
30
Neither attributable to nor aggravated by Mil service as per Para 43 of GMO 2008
21.
W.P.(C) 2732/2025
EX SGT
Akhilesh Kumar Mishra
Primary Hypertension
19
Life style disease. Onset of disability in peace area.
No close time connection with- HAA/ClOps/Fd area as per Para 43 of Ch VI of GMO 2008.
These appeals stand covered, in identical circumstances, by several decisions rendered by this Court, in which disability pension was denied on identical grounds. Some of the representative decisions may be cited thus:
(i) Primary Hypertension
(a) UOI v Rajveender Singh Mallhi 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3956
(b) UOI v Ravish Babu 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3957
(c) UOI v SGT Harvinder Singh Negi 2025 SCC OnLine Del 4806
(d) UOI v Koutharapu Srinivasa 2025 SCC OnLine Del 4292
(e) UOI v Jyoti Kumar Singh 2025 SCC OnLine Del 4222
(f) UOI v Lt Col V Raveendran Kutty 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3004
(ii) Diabetes Mellitus Type II
(a) UOI v Vijay Kumar 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3969
(b) UOI v Ashok Kumar Pandey 2025 SCC OnLine Del 2908
(c) UOI v Sayan Panja 2025 SCC OnLine Del 2910
(d) UOI v Rajesh Kumar WP C 9470/2025 dt. 10 July 2025
(e) UOI v GP Capt. Santosh Kumar 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3218
(f) UOI v EX SGT Kunal Palit 2025 SCC OnLine Del 4961
(iii) Coronary Artery Disease
(a) UOI v EX JWO Dharmendra Prasad 2025 SCC OnLine Del 2549
(b) UOI v MWO Jahangeer Alam 2025 SCC OnLine Del 2434
(c) UOI v EX JWO Vinay Rathee 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3583
(d) UOI V EX JWO SK Srivastava 2025 SCC OnLine Del 4909
(iv) Primary Hypertension with Retinopathy
UOI v EX WO Hira Lal Prasad 2025 SCC OnLine Del 2689
(v) Diabetes Mellitus Type II and Primary Hypertension
(a) UOI v Mani Lal Prasad 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3958
(b) UOI v HFO MWO Raj Bhanu Singh 2025 SCC OnLine Del 3223
(c) UOI v CDR Sudesh Kumar Sharma 2025 SCC OnLine Del 4840
(d) UOI v GP Capt Girish Kumar Johri (Retd) 2025 SCC OnLine Del 4960
The reasons for our disinclination to interfere with the decision of the Tribunal are forthcoming in the individual judgements passed by us, and we do not deem it necessary to burden this order by a reiteration thereof. Suffice it to state that learned Counsel for the UOI, in these petitions, too, was unable to urge that these cases are not covered by our earlier decisions. In fact, as already noted, they fairly conceded that the issues stood covered.
Following the aforesaid, all these writ petitions are dismissed. The petitioners are directed to implement the orders passed by the Tribunal within a period of eight weeks from today.