JUDGMENT :

Sureshwar Thakur, J.

Through the instant writ petition, the petitioner herein-Union of India, prays for the setting aside of the order dated 17.01.2024 (Annexure P-1), as passed by the learned Armed Forces Tribunal concerned (hereinafter for short called as the Tribunal), wherebys the claim of respondent No. 1 for the grant of disability pension was allowed.

Factual Background

2. Respondent No. 1 joined Army on 22.04.2004 and discharged w.e.f. 30.04.2021 post rendering 17 years 08 days of service At the time of discharge from service, respondent No. 1 was placed in low medical category P2 (Permanent) owing to his disabilities 'LEFT ATRIAL MYXOMA WITH CEREBRAL EMBOLIC PHENOMENON (OPTD) and LEFT MCA PCA INFRACT SECONDARY TO ATRIAL MYXOMA (1-63.4)'. The degree of the said disabilities were compositely assessed @ 36% for life, however, the same were held to be neither attributable to nor being aggravated by military service by military service. Accordingly the claim of the respondent for grant of disability pension was rejected but no rejection letter was conveyed to the respondent no. 1. Hence, the application for redressal of his grievance has been filed on 06.04.2022, however, the same was rejected on the ground that he had not preferred any appeal within the given time frame.

3. Feeling aggrieved, respondent No.1 filed O.A., before the learned Armed Forces Tribunal concerned, wherebys he cast a challenge to the afore said rejection order. The said O.A., became allowed vide order dated 17.01.2024. The operative part of the said order is extracted hereinafter.

11." In view of the above, this application is allowed and the orders under challenge are accordingly set aside and quashed. The applicant is held entitled to the grant of disability element of disability pension @50% as against 36% for life from the day next to date of his discharge from service i.e. 01.05.2021, after being rounded off in terms of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No 418/2012 titled Union of India Vs Ram Avtar decided on 10.12.2014. the due and admissible arrears, are directed to be released in favour of the applicant within a period of three months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order failing which, the applicant shall be entitled to recover the interest @8% per annum till realization of entire amount."

4. Feeling aggrieved from the aforesaid order as passed upon the O.A. (supra), by the learned Armed Forces Tribunal concerned, the petitioner-Union of India has filed thereagainst the instant writ petition before this Court.

Inferences of this Court.

5. Before proceeding to make an effective adjudication upon the present writ petition, a useful assistance for determining whether the befallment of any disease vis-a-vis any member of the defence personnel, but post his being enrolled in the army, despite at the initial stage, upon his becoming enlisted, as a member of the combatant defence establishment, rather the same remaining undetected, yet the apposite eruption, thus post enlistment hence being construable to be either congenital or being construable to become aggravated or being attributable to military service, thus is acquired, from, the principles set forth in the judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court, in case titled as Dharamvir Singh Vs. Union of India, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 316. The relevant paragraphs of the said verdict are extracted hereinafter.

29. A conjoint reading of various provisions, reproduced above, makes it clear that:

30. We, accordingly, answer both the questions in affirmative in favour of the appellant and against the respondents.

6. An incisive reading(s) of the above extracted principles, though pointedly declare, that when a disability becomes entailed upon any member of the combatant defence establishment, and which is to the extent of 20 % or over, thereupon, though any such disabled member is required to be invalided from the Army, but yet he is required to be assigned t