Chandigarh, April 4: A challenge by the Government of India against a disability pension award was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which ruled that veteran benefits cannot be denied based on vague medical assessments. The decision reinforces the entitlement of former service members to rounded-off disability elements.
Naik Kuldeep Singh, who served for nearly two decades, was granted a 50 percent disability pension by the Armed Forces Tribunal in Chandigarh. The High Court upheld this finding, rejecting the government’s stance that the veteran’s heart condition was unrelated to his military tenure.
Government counsel contended that the medical board’s composite assessment of 37 percent disability did not qualify for service-related compensation. They asserted that the conditions were not aggravated by the respondent’s duties in the armed forces.
However, the High Court focused on the veteran’s initial medical clearance. When Singh joined the military in 2002, he was found to be in good health with no underlying diseases.
“Since the disease was detected during the course of service, it has to be attributed to military service,” the bench maintained.
The court affirmed that the right to a disability pension remains intact if the medical board fails to provide a substantiated reason for denial. The justices noted that the rounding off of the disability from 37 percent to 50 percent was consistent with established legal principles.
“An unsubstantiated report of the Medical Board cannot take away the right of the respondent to claim the benefit of disability pension,” the bench asserted while dismissing the writ petition.
