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Judgment
JYOTI SINGH, J. (ORAL)
These writ petitions are filed by Union of India challenging judgments of learned Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (Tribunal) granting disability pension to the Respondents herein. Details of the disability incurred by the Respondents during service along with the reasons of the Release Medical Boards, wherever available are given hereunder for ease of reference:-
| Item No. | WP(C) No. | Name of Respondent | Disability | Years of service | Reasoning given by the RMB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | W.P.(C) 15933/2026 | SGT REPAKA GOPAL (RETD) | Primary Hypertension | 20 | NANA as not posted in field areas, HAA, CIOPs or prolonged afloat service. |
| 202 | W.P.(C) 8693/2026 | MAJ GEN SURENDER MOHAN VSM RETD | Primary Hypertension | 38 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area and was owing to lifestyle disorder. |
| 203 | W.P.(C) 8729/2026 | EX NK MACP HAV VARINDER KUMAR | Type-II Diabetes Mellitus | 21 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 204 | W.P.(C) 9437/2026 | EX HONY NB SUB MAHADEB GHOSH | Type-II Diabetes Mellitus | 24 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area and a metabolic disorder. |
| 206 | W.P.(C) 10278/2026 | HAV LAVKUSH KUMAR SINGH RETD. | Primary Hypertension | 24 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 207 | W.P.(C) 10938/2026 | COL. JOSE KP (RETD.) | Systemic Hypertension and Type-II Diabetes Mellitus | 30 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area |
| 208 | W.P.(C) 11036/2026 | SMT. GEETA KUMARI | CAD-SILENT AWWIPATENT EPICARDIAL CORONARIES POST AICD IMPLATATION (IN NYHA CLASS) | 25 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 209 | W.P.(C) 11463/2026 | NK BABU LAL GURJAR | Primary Hypertension | 17 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 210 | W.P.(C) 12199/2026 | AIR CMDE N MUNIRATHNAM | Type-II Diabetes Mellitus | 34 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area and a metabolic disorder. |
| 211 | W.P.(C) 12515/2026 | EX NK CHEF HARJINDER SINGH | Primary Hypertension | 17 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 212 | W.P.(C) 12569/2026 | EX NK JAGBIR SINGH DAGAR | Primary Hypertension | 22 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 213 | W.P.(C) 19214/2025 | EX- HAV/CLK MAHESH PRASAD | Generalized Tonic Colonic Seizure-345 | 17 | Constitutional in nature. |
| 214 | W.P.(C) 2843/2026 | WG CDR RAMESH CHAND BHATI RETD. | Primary Hypertension | 35 (enrolled as Airman on 26.11.1982 and commissioned on 21.01.1997) | NANA |
| 215 | W.P.(C) 4809/2026 | EX NB SUB NARINDER SINGH | Generalized Seizure | 21 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 217 | W.P.(C) 5192/2026 | EX JWO PARAM NANDA BEHRA | Primary Hypertension | 32 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 218 | W.P.(C) 5267/2026 | COL DINESH DUTT SHARMA RETD | Primary Hypertension | 31 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 219 | W.P.(C) 5268/2026 | EX HFO RAMPAL SINGH | Complete heart block on pacemaker | 37 | NANA |
| 221 | W.P.(C) 5431/2026 | HFO DAL CHANDRA (RETD) | Primary Hypertension | 37 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 223 | W.P.(C) 5718/2026 | GP CAPT AK MAINI | Type-II Diabetes Mellitus | 28 | NANA |
| 225 | W.P.(C) 5911/2026 | EX HAV ASHWANI KR. SHARMA | Primary Hypertension and Type-II Diabetes Mellitus | 21 | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 226 | W.P.(C) 6344/2026 | EX HAV RAM KUMAR SINGH | Optic Atrophy both eyes and Pituitary Macroadenoma Nepa (D)-35.2 | 24 | NANA |
| 228 | W.P.(C) 6619/2026 | EX JWO MD SAMIM | Primary Hypertension | 20 | No close time association with stress or strain or dietary compulsion and the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 229 | W.P.(C) 11667/2026 | COL RAJIV CHAUDHARY (RETD.) | Primary Hypertension | 33 (Commissioned in SSC on 26.05.1986 and permanent commissioned on 10.04.2019) | NANA as the onset of disability occurred in peace area. |
| 231 | W.P.(C) 2859/2026 | COL VG BHATNAGAR (RETD) | Primary Hypertension | Almost 28 | NANA |
Learned counsels for the Respondents submit that the writ petitions deserve to be dismissed as the cases of the Respondents are covered by the judgments of the Supreme Court in Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India and Others, (2013) 7 SCC 316 and Union of India & Another v Rajbir Singh, 2015 SCC OnLine SC 119 and several other judgments of Division Benches of this Court, including the judgment in Union of India and Others v. Ex Sub Gawas Anil Madso, 2025 SCC OnLine Del 2018, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court along with a batch of appeals in the judgment in Union of India & Others v. Col. NC Isaac (Retd), 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1895.
Petitioners do not dispute that the cases of the Respondents are covered by the aforesaid judgments on different issues that arise in different writ petitions. It is now settled by the Supreme Court that: (a) only because the disability has arisen in peace area, it cannot be held as a thumb rule that the disability is neither attributable nor aggravated by military service; (b) if an individual enters service and there is no note in the record that he suffers from any pre-existing disease or illness, he shall be presumed to be of sound mental and physical health and the disability that arises during the course of W.P.(C) 15933/2026 and connected matters Page 11 of 12 service shall be attributable to and/or aggravated by military service; and (c) the onus of proof that the disability is neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service will be on the employer and the Medical Board will be required to give reason to hold so. Tribunal in the impugned judgments has followed these principles and we find no infirmity in the judgments warranting interference.
Accordingly, all these writ petitions are dismissed as being devoid of merit and we direct the Petitioners to implement the judgments of the Tribunal, impugned before us and which we uphold, within a period of four months from today, save and except, the judgment impugned in W.P. (C) 5718/2026, which we are informed during the course of hearing by counsel for the Petitioner, has been implemented.
All the aforesaid writ petitions stand disposed of with pending applications.