IMPORTANT POINT
Appeal Medical Board being the expert body which takes all factors into account, its opinion has to be given weight.

JUDGMENT

Dalveer Bhandari, J. —

1.Leave granted.

2.This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 27.3.2009 passed by the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 7834 of 2009.

3.The short question involved in this appeal pertains to the controversy whether the appellant is entitled to disability pension?

4.Brief facts which are necessary to dispose of the matter are recapitulated as under:

The appellant was enrolled in the Territorial Army on 28.9.1975 as a Sepoy. At the time of joining service the appellant was put through the medical test and was found medically fit. According to the appellant, while serving in the Army, he had contacted the disease known as “Unspecified Psychosis” on 26.6.1985, which is a psychiatric disorder. The appellant was treated in the Army Hospital at Delhi Cantt. On the recommendations of the Medical Board which assessed the appellant’s disability as 40%, he was invalided out from the service. According to the Medical Board the disease of the appellant was neither attributable to nor aggravated by the military service.

5.The claim of the appellant for grant of disability pension was rejected by the competent authority. The appellant filed a Writ Petition (Civil) No. 838 of 2008 in the High Court of Delhi. There was a similar matter pending with the High Court and the High Court by a common order dated 30.4.2008 directed the respondents to hold the Appeal Medical Board with further direction that the parameters laid down by the High Court in the cases of Ex-Sepoy Gopal Singh Dadwal v. Union of India & Others,1 (2007) 1 SLR 616 and Ex-Cfn Sugna Ram Ranoliya v. Union of India & Others,2 132 (2006) DLT 544 (DB) be taken into consideration.

6.The Appeal Medical Board opined that the disease of the appellant was neither attributable to nor aggravated by the military service because it was contracted in peace area. Aggrieved thereby, the appellant filed Writ Petition (Civil) No. 7834 of 2009 which was dismissed by the High Court. Hence, the present appeal by special leave.

7.We deem it appropriate to set out the relevant part of the opinion of the Medical Board. The same is as under:

“PART V OPINION OF THE MEDICAL BOARD

Individual’s Relationship of the Disability with Serviceconditions or otherwise Disability Attributable Aggravated Not Reason/ cause/ to service by service connected specific (Y/N) (Y/N) with condition and service period in service (Y/N) UNSPECIFIED No No Yes * PSYCHOSIS

* As per medical consensus, unspecified psychosis, like schizophrenia is caused by interaction of multiple genetic vulnerabilities coupled with environmental, biological, psychological and psychosocial stressors during early childhood development or structural and neuro-chemical damage to the brain in infancy manifesting in adult life as psychosis, hence it cannot be considered as attributable to military service. However, despite being a constitutional psychiatric disease benefit of doubt is given to an individual on possibility of stress and strain of service in war like situations, threat to life by enemy action in CIOPs or extreme environmental conditions of prolonged field/high altitude service, hastening the onset or aggravating it (as specified in Annexure I to Encirclement Rules - Classification of Diseases). However, no such stress/strain of military service as defined in Para 54 of Chapter VI of Guide to medical officers (military Pensions) 2002, which is considered stressful enough to hasten onset or aggravate the invaliding disease (ID), is evident in this instant case as individual did not serve in any field/CIOPs/High altitude areas or extreme environmental conditions and served only in peace stations (Cannanore and Delhi). In view of the above, as per the principles of military medicine, invaliding disease (ID) is considered neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service.

Sd/- Sd/-

Col. A.T. Kalghargi Brig.V.K. Kataria

Director (Pension) Dy. DGAFMS(Pens)

Dir AFMS (Pension) Off